


Game Over. Continue?

by pastelaws



Category: Waterparks (Band), waterparks - Fandom
Genre: Also there's a lot of jokes about death?, I didn't mean for this to happen, It's a Gawsten but all the other pairings happen for plot, Lowkey it's a start off hate fic, M/M, There's gonna be some smut at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2019-06-29 11:31:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 73,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15728541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastelaws/pseuds/pastelaws
Summary: Geoff dies. His tombstone is inscribed with "Game Over. Continue?" and a slot for coins. Awsten finds it, puts in a coin and Geoff bursts out of the grave.





	1. Game Over. Continue?

**Author's Note:**

> I saw this prompt on tumblr and instantly thought of Geoff and before I knew what was happening, I was writing this. It's my first fanfic so please let me know what you think.

Geoff Wigington was your typical video game enthusiast. He spent most of his time inside on one of his various gaming consoles beating someone, somewhere around the world. His best friends consisted of Mario, Link and Sonic. When he was forced to leave his incredible gaming set up, he displayed his love of games around his neck with a silver triforce symbol. It came as a shock to everyone that when Geoff was on his way to the midnight release for Fallout 4, he got hit by a truck. It was like he was playing an intense game of Frogger, weaving in and out of traffic. The difference between reality and retro-gaming is that when you die in real life, there's no continue. It's game over.

Geoff died instantly. His final thoughts were unknown. The only thing anyone knew was that Geoff had made it explicitly clear on paper and out loud that when he was to die, his grave was to have something a little bit extra. Geoff Wigington's tombstone was to have the following:

GEOFF WIGINGTON

GAME OVER  
CONTINUE?

June 2nd 1989- August 21st 2015

Of course, under the continue, he insisted to have a slot. For what exactly? Quarters. He insisted on making his grave in a similar style to that of an arcade game. For most people, that would have been an odd request but for Geoff, it was just another favor. He was buried later that week. His sisters sobbed as their daughters looked up at them with questioning eyes; they didn't understand their uncle's fate just yet. His father tried to stay strong but shed tears towards the end. His acquaintances exchanged sad glances; one declared they were going to rehab for their gaming addiction because of what happened to Geoff.

For the first year, the visits were frequent. Flowers always laid on top of the grave, blue and green, his favorites. People would talk to Geoff and for a moment, it almost felt like they could hear him talking back, confessing things he never said out loud. As time came and went, things changed. His sister Sarah got offered a job in California and flew out the following week to start the rest of her life. Rebecca got pregnant and that became her entire universe. His father, also named Geoff, retired and went to southern Florida. Time stopped for no one. By the second year, the visits simmered down to only on holidays.

It was three years to the day that Geoff had passed away when somebody Geoff didn't know visited him. This boy with lavender hair that often frequented the cemetery at night, not with anyone but himself. The gothic teens would often scoff at his odd fashion choices; a white Guess sweater tucked into cuffed black jeans and black sunglasses, a multicolored Puma sweater paired with an off grey pair of sweatpants and large blue clout goggles, a day-glow orange windbreaker with cuffed jeans and a pair of navy blue Jordan's. The boy stuck out of a crowd intentionally or otherwise.

This night was similar to every other night the pastel boy had in the graveyard. He approached Geoff's grave with an arm full of sunflowers -the flowers changed every day depending on what he could snatch from work for cheap that day- but where there should've been a smile, there was a face of confusion. He was expecting the standard grave with a name, his relationship to other people in his life, potentially cause of death. The basics. His thick, dark brows scrunched together as he read the tombstone internally. He was not expecting to see those three words next to someone's death date.

“Game over? Continue?” The boy muttered more to himself than the grave. “What kinda guy are you Gee-off Wingainten?” He set the flowers atop the grave and immediately dug through his pockets. He plucked a penny out of his pocket and inserted it into the slot on the grave without a second thought. He heard an 8-bit version of a song he couldn't quite place when before his eyes, a boy appeared in front of him. His hair was a deep brown and longer than most boys -it was shaggy and a bit of a mess- but what caught the pastel boy's eye was the shade of cerulean that his eyes were.

“You fucking idiot. Everybody knows you're supposed to put in quarters! A penny wo-”

As quickly as the boy appeared in front of him, he vanished. The lavender haired boy blinked repeatedly, turned on his heels and ran out of the cemetery. He wasn't sure entirely what had just happened but he was freaked out. In all the times he had gone to visit graves, nothing like that had every happened to him. Sure, he had the odd goth here or there try to give him a hard time or fuck with him, but nothing like this. Had he imagined the taller boy? He heard his voice clear as day. _Everybody knows you're supposed to put in quarters!_ rang in his ears. He had never been one to play arcade games. It didn't cross his mind that he needed quarters. His eyes shot across the street to a dimly lit 7-11 as he ran across the almost empty street and into the store.

“I need change.” Awsten was running on autopilot at this point. He was there physically but he wasn't really there at all. He handed the cashier a twenty dollar bill. The cashier said nothing, taking the twenty from his hand and opening the till. She began to count out a small stack of ones. “Quarters. I need it all in quarters.” His fingers drummed on the counter as she counted out the small silver coins.

“Video games or something?” It wasn't uncommon for people to come in and ask for change. Awsten learned that at his old job at the convenience store. The older the customer, the more likely it was for the bus. The younger the customer, the more likely it was for the arcade. The arcade was a surprisingly popular place to spend time around Houston. It wasn't in the best part of town -all the walls were covered in graffiti- but it was something to do.

“Something like that.” He replied quickly. When she was done, he took the coins out of her hands and raced back across the street. His pace slowed as he came to the rows of graves. He wasn't exactly sure where Geoff Wigington's grave was. He had only been there the one time after all. He went up and down the first three rows before spying the interesting tombstone.

As he was sitting in front of the grave, twenty dollars in quarters rested in his hands. He went over the calculations in his mind one more time. _Assuming that this weird fucking shit works on the same principle, if one cent gets this ghost person ten seconds, that means one hundred cents gets one thousand seconds. That means a dollar gets roughly sixteen and a half minutes. Twenty dollars gets them roughly five and a half hours._ The pastel boy looked past the coins and at his dark blue shoes and almost began to question his motives before saying fuck it and sliding coins into the slot on the grave. The first one goes in no problem and he hears the song from before. It crosses his mind quickly that it might be a song from the early 2000's. By the time the second coin is in the slot, the brown haired boy is materializing but the mortal is oblivious.

“Wait, if that works, why didn't anybody put coins in before?” The brown haired boy yawned, stretching his arms over his head. The grave was too tiny for his liking. He didn't even have to look at himself to know he probably had the worst bedhead. “Nobody ever tried at my funeral. Fuckers.” His voice caused the pastel boy to elicit a yelp, jumping and dropping the coins in his hands. His fingers began to shake, struggling to pick up the remaining coins.

“You need to relax.” The brown haired boy scoffed, reaching for some of the silver. “I'm Geoff. Geoff Wigington.” Geoff slid a few more coins into the slot slowly before turning to the other boy. “Not Gee-off. Not however the fuck you tried to say my last name back there. Geoff. Got it?” The pastel boy gulped and nodded hastily, handing Geoff a couple more coins. His hands were still shaking but Geoff either didn't notice or didn't feel the need to further tease the other boy. “You got a name or something?” They continued like that for a while. Geoff inserting coins into his own grave, bursting the other boy's theory that he was a ghost. The other boy gathering the small pieces of silver. It's only when the last coin goes in that the lavender boy summoned the courage to reply.

“Awsten.” It comes out softly. Softer than when he was saying Geoff's name. “Awsten Knight.” Geoff turned around and actually took a look at the person who freed him this time. He looked eyes with the boy and noticed he had two different colors looking back at him; a bright green that could rival that of a cat's eye and a light blue that reminded him of his baby blanket.

Geoff sighed, realizing how badly he must've scared this guy. He reached for the yellow flowers on top of his grave and tried to consider how to apologize to this stranger when a loud 8-bit soundtrack started playing and a small, blue fairy appeared before the two of them. Awsten is flabbergasted at the scene in front of him but Geoff? Geoff's grinning ear to ear. Neither of them have any idea what's about to happen until the small blue fairy clears it's throat as if on cue.

“Player two joined.” The blue fairy exclaimed. The fairy's voice was one that somebody would describe as high pitched and annoying. Awsten being that somebody. The fairy's voice sounded like a six year old girl that's had six or seven pixie sticks for breakfast. “Would you like to hear how to play?”

“Tell me that one of those goth kids slipped me a pill and this is all a hallucination or something.” Awsten muttered, more to himself than Geoff or this tiny blue fairy creature. She reminded him vaguely of Thumbelina mixed with one of his little sister's Barbie fairy movies. Not that he ever watched them or anything. Awsten looked down at his hands, counting his fingers to ensure that this wasn't some type of bad dream. Unfortunately, he still had five fingers. This was reality. “Please tell me this is some kind of sick joke.”

“It has to be a fucking joke. I'm never player two.” Geoff was practically enraged in being put in a supporting role. In the entire history of his gaming career, he was never player two. He was never defense or support or healing. He was always leading or fighting or actually doing something.

“Would you like to hear how to play?” The blue-green fairy inquired, smiling at the pair of boys. She floated between the two of them, standing at about three inches tall.

“I'm serious!” Awsten huffed, crossing his well defined arms over his chest. He was thankful it had gotten cooler as the sun went down. He was sweating up a storm earlier all for the sake of fashion. He tried to keep himself covered as much as humanly possible during the summer to avoid the grotesque burn that came with the warmer months. It wasn't a smart idea but nobody ever looked cool with a sunburn.

“So am I! You couldn't be a player one if it fucking killed you.” Geoff had this thing about meeting new people. Some people saw other people and immediately associated them with animals they look like, other people associated people with colors. Geoff mentally assigned people roles in video games the moment he met them. Awsten was meant to be a support. He should be casting buffs and healing people, not trying to take down the dragon.

“Would you like to hear how to play?” The blue fairy repeated. The smile remained on her face.

“Can you please fucking answer this pixie thing?” Awsten uncrossed his arms and began rubbing his temples. He felt one of his migraines coming on. They weren't an often occurrence but they were very strong. He had called out of work on more than one occasion because he wasn't able to handle the pain that came with dealing with the customers at the shop.

“It's a fairy asshole.” Geoff ran a hand through his hair as he looked at the person he was supposed to be playing this game with. Awsten was shorter, even if it was only just by a couple inches. He looked like the kind of guy who would have a complex about it. Awsten already appeared to be one of those short, angry guys and Geoff wasn't having any of it. “Yes! Teach us how to play.”

“Would you like to hear how to play?” The blue fairy continued despite the reply. Her smile was unwavering.

“He said yes.” Awsten groaned loudly. It was just his luck that their game was already glitching.

“Fucking NPCs.” Geoff glanced towards Awsten, almost expecting him to look confused at the term. When he wasn't, Geoff continued. “I think you have to say yes.”

“Would you like to hear how to play?”

“Why? That doesn't make any sense. Your yes should be just as good as mine.” Awsten wasn't super familiar with video games anymore. He went through a brief phase in his teen years with a couple of his friends but that all changed the second he picked up his guitar. He lost his love of video games and all of his same friends almost instantly.

“You're player one.” Geoff rolled his eyes. He was cursed to play player two in death. He couldn't think of a worse possible punishment. Even hell sounded better to him than to follow around this uwu pastel prince soft boi named Awsten. “Player one controls the menu and option selection almost always.” Whether Geoff liked it or not, the soft boi was calling the shots this time around.

“Would you like to hear how to play?” The teal fairy repeated, still smiling. Awsten sighed to himself. He needed to know the rules to this weird game he had stumbled into but more than anything, he wanted to say no. He wanted this fairy to stop talking. He wanted to wait five and a half hours and have Geoff Wigington go back into the ground where he belonged. He shouldn't be playing video games with dead boys.

“N-” His eyes met with Geoff's and Awsten could've sworn he was drowning. He couldn't read him at all. They barely knew each other. Awsten knew three things about Geoff Wigington. He was good at video games, he was absolutely gorgeous and he didn't deserve to die a second time. “Yes.”

“Awesome! Welcome to King of Hearts. My name is Briar.” Briar cheered happily, smiling from ear to ear. Neither of the boys could tell if she was blue all over or if it was just the intense glow that radiated off of her. Geoff chalked it up to some of that video game magic.

“Sounds like a card game.” Geoff grumbled. He wasn't very good at games of chance. He was more about strategy and skill as opposed to blind luck and chance. Sometimes, he wished he had lady luck on his side. It would've been a great asset to have when he was gambling when he was still alive. “Told you so.”

“This is a game of love. Player one is in a great situation. They've got a ton of potential partners to choose from. Choose from ten potential love interests to find your soulmate.” Geoff was paying more attention to the mystery of the blue fairy than anything she was saying. A blue body or a blue glow. He squinted at the bright light to try and get a decent look at the mystical creature but had no luck.

“Wrong. Nice try Gee-off.” He smirked at the intentional faux pas as he rolled his mismatched eyes at the former dead boy. Awsten's mind wandered to the ten people mentioned. Were they all people he knew? Had he met them all yet? Awsten didn't think he knew ten people between work, band practice and the gym that he genuinely liked, let alone that liked him. “I'm trying to listen.”

“When you think you've got the person right, propose. If you've got your love interest correct, they'll accept the proposal immediately regardless of if you're dating or not as long as their heart is red.” Geoff had figured it out. When Briar spoke words with more than one vowel, the light dimmed ever so slightly. The more vowels in a word, the more her light darkened. It was with the word immediately that he found his answer. Her skin wasn't the teal that would shine in his eyes. It was the color of her hair.

“Please. It's a visual novel.” Geoff scoffed at the description of the game. He wasn't one for visual novels, let alone those of a love variety. They were those choose your own adventure books from when you were a kid but dressed up as a form of media and sold as a video game. “No gamer looks at a tutorial anyways.”

“Proposing to more than three people during the game results in an instant game over for both players. Proposing to no one is an instant game over for both players. Player one, you have one year! Choose wisely.” Geoff might've been looking at Briar but Awsten was looking at Geoff. He was sort of cute if you were into the whole shoulder length messy hair, gamer meets bad boy thing. He had a nose ring and everything. Awsten didn't take notice of his clothes at first but realized that there was no possible way that this was the outfit that Geoff was buried in. His jeans were tight and black with tears all across his pale thighs. Across the chest of his off green shirt was a triforce symbol to match the silver pendant around his neck.

“Listen, this isn't a fucking game. This is real life you idiot.” Awsten spat venomously, discarding his previous interest in the physical form of his helper. He had no idea how he was supposed to last an entire year in this game. An entire year with Geoff. Was Geoff going to stay with him the entire year? What if Geoff just left and didn't help him? What if Geoff disappeared and he would have to feed his grave more quarters? Awsten didn't even want to think about how much it would cost to keep his player two around.

“Player two is here to guide the first player along. Player two will have hints, tips and tricks on how to win the hearts of all of romantic prospects.” Geoff tried to suppress a groan the moment Briar uttered the word hints. He could've handled playing a supporting role in any other style of game. Suddenly casting buffs sounded a lot cooler than it did a couple minutes ago. “Player two can see the hearts of all potential love interests! Hearts come in four colors with four different meanings. Grey hearts indicate disinterest or a neutral state while yellow hearts indicate friendship. Pink hearts signal a crush and of course red hearts symbolize love.”

“Really? Because I'm pretty sure you put in a couple coins, some cheesy music came on and we're hearing a tutorial right now, so either this is a game or you're on some Wreck-It Ralph level shit.” Geoff shouldn't have been taking his frustration out on the person who freed him from spending the rest of eternity in the dirt. He knew that. There was just something -a feeling in the bottom of his gut or an ache in the back of his head- telling him that Awsten Knight was trouble. This entire situation was a bad idea but Geoff never shied away from a video game. He would need to beat this like he beat everything else.

“Did you get all that? Should I repeat the tutorial?” Briar had finished her speech, regardless of the fact that the pair were barely listening. It had taken them forever to get the tutorial going and from the moment it started, they neglected to hear what the fairy had to say. Awsten was trying really hard to but it was difficult with Geoff insulting him every five seconds.

“You know I can let you die again, right?” Sure, Awsten could let him die a second time, in theory. It would be easy. Stop feeding the grave quarters. Push him into traffic. He died once, he could die again. He was supposed to be dead anyways. Awsten knew somewhere inside of him that he would never do that. He wouldn't. He couldn't be the reason someone died. It didn't matter if it was the first or fiftieth time.

“What?” Geoff's eyes widened momentarily before he instinctively turned his head. He tried not to expose any of his weaknesses to enemies or other players. It wasn't always that easy. Geoff didn't want to die. Not again. It hurt too much the first time. The second time felt more like napping than dying but he still wasn't a fan.

“Did you get all that? Should I repeat the tutorial?” 

“I don't need to feed your grave quarters.” Awsten wasn't even sure that he had to do that to keep Geoff around. He wasn't sure of anything anymore. He wasn't used to raising the dead but he was positive Geoff didn't know how anything worked either. “I can let you die again. I don't need to help you.”

“You wouldn't let me die, flower boy.” Geoff remembered he was holding a small bouquet of sunflowers in his hand. Awsten might've been acting like an asshole but he brought him flowers. Bad guys don't usually bring dead dudes flowers. Not in Houston anyways. “You need my help. You have no shot without me.”

“Did you get all that? Should I repeat the tutorial?”

“You don't know that ghosty.” Awsten bluffed with an impressive amount of confidence. If Awsten were in Geoff's shoes, he was pretty positive he'd believe the lie. This was out of character for Awsten. He was usually pretty awful at lying; he had an incredibly large list of telltale signs.

“If I was a ghost, I wouldn't have been able to help you out back there when your hands were shaking.” Geoff replied quickly, shooting Awsten a cold look. Awsten looked like a deer caught in the headlights. If it wasn't so dark, Geoff might've commented on the shade of peach that his cheeks turned. He blamed the small shift on the fact that one of their two light sources was a bright blue NPC that was stuck on repeat. “This is a game. I can kill you back. You might not get a revive like me.”

“Did you get all that? Should I repeat the tutorial?”

“Not all games let player two play if player one dies.” Awsten couldn't believe that this dead boy was actually trying to say he would try and kill him. Could Geoff even be classified as dead at this point? He definitely wasn't a ghost or else he wouldn't have been able to hold the coins or the flowers. Was his heart actually beating? If it was, Awsten had performed some kind of fucking miracle, even if it wasn't on purpose.

“Thought you didn't play games.” Geoff quipped, smirking at the other boy. He wasn't entirely sure of Awsten's age but he was pretty positive he had to be at least a few years older than Awsten. Perhaps it was the short temper or the pale purple in his hair. The more Geoff thought about it, the more he thought it might be the expensive clothes he was wearing. Seriously, who rolls up the the cemetery in a pair of Jordan's?

“Did you get all that? Should I repeat the tutorial?” The pause after Briar's dialogue felt longer than it lasted. The silence hung in the air like a curtain between the boys, hiding the truth. Geoff looked at the other boy but he refused to meet his gaze. Awsten's eyes were fixated on his overpriced sneakers. He was in his head more than he liked to admit out loud. This one one of those times. Geoff didn't notice the soft soundtrack playing in the background of their conversation with Briar. He couldn't tell with all the bickering.

“Haven't in a long time.” When Awsten broke the silence, the words felt almost foreign. They didn't sound like something he said. The voice, the sentence structure, it was all wrong. It was clear that something was wrong. The subject was sore. Geoff opened his mouth to say something.

“Did you get all that? Should I repeat the tutorial?” The blue fairy interrupted happily. It was probably for the better. Geoff's people skills were lacking. Years of spending every waking moment alone would do that to a person. Geoff tried to remember the last time he went out with someone he classified as a friend. He couldn't.

“Can you please shut this fairy up?” Geoff knew it wasn't his place to press on the subject. He didn't know Awsten and he especially didn't know him well enough to start talking about emotional baggage. He wanted to say something but he didn't know how. The words would come out all wrong. It was better to just stay focused on the quest at hand.

“Can you shut up and listen this time?” Awsten snapped, a hand ran through his short hair as he exhaled softly. If this conversation was going to be a reflection of the next year of his life, he was already dreading every moment of it.

“Did you get all that? Should I repeat the tutorial?” Geoff opened his mouth to speak but he shut it slowly. He didn't know Awsten Knight at that moment at all. He didn't know any of the suffering he had been through to bring him to this point. He just figured that for once, the kid needed a break. The pastel boy took Geoff's silence as compliance.

“Yes. Repeat the tutorial.” Awsten wasn't sure why Geoff didn't just give him attitude or sass him or something but he wasn't complaining.

“Awesome! Welcome to King of Hearts. My name is Briar. This is a game of love. Player one is in a great situation. They've got a ton of potential partners to choose from. Choose from ten potential love interests to find your soulmate.” Geoff wasn't exactly the average person but to him, ten potential love interests sounded like a fucking nightmare. He wasn't even sure he believed in soulmates. Geoff had never even dated anybody before and he was supposed to be out here wingmaning a guy he met twenty minutes ago.

“When you think you've got the person right, propose. If you've got your love interest correct, they'll accept the proposal immediately regardless of if you're dating or not as long as their heart is red. Proposing to more than three people during the game results in an instant game over for both players. Proposing to no one is an instant game over for both players.” It hit Awsten in that moment, that a year from now, he would be engaged. Or dead. He wasn't sure which one would be worse. Sure, he had always joked about wanting to be a white, middle aged suburban dad but this was serious. Awsten wasn't even sure if he wanted to get married to begin with and now he was supposed to be proposing to somebody. He had three chances of course, however he struggled painfully with rejection so he seriously doubted he would use all three of those chances. If Awsten chose incorrectly and got rejected, there was a better possibility of him accepting his death than getting over it and proposing to someone else. “Player one, you have one year! Choose wisely.”

“Player two is here to guide the first player along. Player two will have hints, tips and tricks on how to win the hearts of all of romantic prospects. Player two can see the hearts of all potential love interests! Hearts come in four colors with four different meanings. Grey hearts indicate disinterest or a neutral state while yellow hearts indicate friendship. Pink hearts signal a crush and of course red hearts symbolize love.” He suddenly understood his role a bit better. He wasn't playing matchmaker for Awsten, not exactly. He was helping him find the correct person out of a group of people. “Did you get all that? Should I repeat the tutorial?” If Geoff was being honest, he was kind of glad he wasn't player one in this situation. Getting to know ten new people? He'd rather die again. Awsten was bad enough.

“We got it.” Awsten replied quickly, not wanting to hear Briar repeat the question for the thousandth time. If Awsten was being honest, he was nervous. Having a one in ten shot at finding a soulmate sounded hard, even if he did get three chances. Thinking about soulmates in general stressed him out. He was twenty-three after all. He was a bit young to be thinking about the rest of his life. He tended to make a lot of poor life choices. Awsten wasn't exactly sure if this classified as another thing in the long list of regrets he had.

“Any questions?” Briar asked cheerfully, catching the attention of both boys.

“What happens if we die?” 

“What happens if we win?”

The pair spoke in unison, their exteriors contrasting with their questions. Awsten was more pessimistic than usual. His big fear at the end of this year was dying. It wasn't something the younger boy had come to terms with just yet. Geoff was almost obnoxiously optimistic. He was getting a short change to live in the real world again. He was able to be a person again.

“If player one dies, player two instantly dies as well.” Briar giggled softly, freaking Awsten out more than he'd like to admit. The fairy had skipped over the second player's question in favor for the protagonist of the game. Geoff didn't really think about the prospect of either of them dying. He tried to push the thought from his mind but the NPC wouldn't let him. “If player two dies, player one can try to finish the game alone. It is not recommended to play without player two. Any questions?”

“Playing without me is like playing the game on hard mode.” Geoff commented dryly. “It's probably not a good idea. Ask her what happens if we win.” Awsten wasn't in the mood to fight Geoff anymore. He had realized the power Geoff held in his hands and made a silent vow to try and get along more with his support. He also gave that promise a life expectancy of about five minutes.

“What happens if we win?” Awsten hadn't even considered the possibility of them winning. Finding a soulmate from a group of people that large sounded like a mess more than a miracle. Assuming he used all of his proposals, which he knew he wouldn't, he only had a 30% chance. The odds were stacked against him. Even with Geoff by his side, things weren't looking good for the two of them.

“If you beat the game, player one lives happily ever after with their partner. Player two gets a much more modest reward. Player two gets a wish. Any questions?” 

_Geoff doesn't need to die. He gets to live._

_I can get a second life. I can wish to be alive again._

The pair immediately locked eyes. A grin was plastered across Geoff's face. His smile was more teeth than gums, showing off his canines. Awsten couldn't help but smile at how ridiculous the grin looked on his face. If he had to guess, he would say Geoff wasn't exactly happy a ton before his death. He had to admit that Geoff's smile was positively contagious. It caused him to smile so hard, his dimpled showed. It wasn't something he loved so he quickly broke the eye contact and suddenly found the grass by his feet very interesting.

“Can people see Geoff?” Awsten's voice surprised himself. It was a question he hadn't even thought of and yet it was escaping through his lips before he realized where it even came from. Geoff looked at the other boy mixed with confusion and excessive amounts of happiness. He must've looked pretty stupid in that moment. Geoff was almost glad that Awsten couldn't hold his gaze anymore. Even if it did mean he couldn't see the younger boy's smile.

“Player two is entirely human for the next three-hundred and sixty-five days. Any questions?” Briar replied, explaining more than the boy had asked for. One of her ideal animations consisted of the fairy fixing the sleeve of her dress. Geoff didn't notice it at first. He was too focused on seeing past the blue glow. His options were to stare at Awsten or stare at Briar and since he was about to have the next year with Awsten, Briar seemed a lot more interesting. That and the fact that she was a multidimensional fairy that appeared to be an IRL video game character. Geoff was in the process of trying not to fanboy.

“Do I already know all of my potential love interests?” This was a question that played more on Awsten's mind when the game was being explained. He ran through a list of everyone he knew that he wasn't related to and the list didn't seem very long or appealing for that matter. Only two people stuck out in his mind and even then, he didn't even really talk to one of those people.

“You've met some of them but you haven't actually met all of them just yet.” Briar smiled softly, trying to soothe the boy's anxieties. “You will meet all of them before the six month mark. That will give you enough time to romance your love interest and propose to them. Any questions?” Awsten noticed only now that the fairy was using gender neutral terms. For a moment, he pondered if his partner wasn't a woman. Awsten had spent his entire life identifying as straight. Every so often, he actually joked that he wished he was bisexual. He found men to be much more attractive to him. He often found himself thinking of kissing boys and marrying a man. Awsten hesitated on his feelings. He lived in the south. It wasn't exactly easy for a feminine man with two different colored eyes and purple hair, let alone a bisexual one.

“How do I know who's a potential love interest?” What he was really asking is if Geoff held all the cards or not. Awsten wanted to know if there was a way he could identify the people on his own rather than with Geoff's help. It wasn't that he didn't want to work with Geoff. Okay, maybe that was it, but it wasn't like Geoff was interested in helping him anyways. “Like I know that there's hearts but is there any other signs?”

“When a potential love interest appears for the first time, there will be a change in music.”

“If they have hearts, maybe they have diaries you can read for their feelings.” Geoff might've spoke over Briar's reply but wasn't entirely kidding. It wasn't uncommon for video games featuring multiple love interests to have some system to check on how they feel about you. Harvest Moon and Rune Factory had diaries. It wasn't unreasonable to think that this game might have something similar.

“It's 2018, nobody has diaries anymore.” Awsten rolled his eyes. It clicked that Geoff had missed out on the last three years of the world. At some point, he was going to have to update the other boy. Kylie Jenner had a baby. The Nintendo Switch came out. Donald Trump was president. The Syrian refugee crisis. The Orlando shooting. The #MeToo movement. Geoff had missed a lot.

“It's 2018? Holy fuck.” Geoff hadn't been sure how much time had passed. Nobody had mentioned the year up until now. He thought of all the consoles he might've missed. All the games that were released after his passing. His eyes lit up when he realized that Pokemon Sun & Moon was probably out at this point. And Persona 5. And Overwatch. “Maybe they have a finsta. Is Instagram still a thing?”

“Every potential love interest will have a slow motion scene. Any questions?”

“Instagram is still a thing. It's been three years dude, not three thousand.” Briar might've been answering his question but he wasn't listening. He was too busy teasing Geoff over dying. He didn't really think about it before the words came out. That was one of Awsten's worst qualities. The words always came out before he could filter his thoughts. “What? Too soon?”

“You laugh but MySpace crashed and burned in less than three years.” Geoff wasn't actually sure how old Awsten was. He looked pretty young. Did the MySpace comment go over his head? Was he old enough to even remember MySpace? “Ask if there's rivals.” Geoff attempted to change the conversation.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Another instance of words coming out without any forethought. Awsten never tried to be an asshole. Not intentionally, anyways. If he took five seconds to phrase his thoughts a bit cleaner, he could've been considered a really nice guy. He still was in certain situations but it was a harder personality to pull out of him.

“Like romantic rivals.” Geoff practically rolled his eyes at the novice in front of him. “In romance games or visual novels, there's romantic rivals. If you pursue someone, there's someone else also trying to get them too. It makes it harder. You have to woo them harder than the other person.”

“You know an awful lot about romance games for somebody who never plays them.” Awsten smirked at the older boy. Geoff's face flushed within seconds. Geoff wasn't lying when he said he wasn't one for romance games. He did however dabble in, erm, some intimate romantic situation games. Those also tended to feature a rival of sorts. He wasn't as experienced in intimacy in reality so he actively tried to live out his fantasies in his virtual world. His mouth opened and shut a few times before he could stammer anything out.

“S-Shu-”

“Are there rivals?” Awsten cut the other boy off with a bright smile. His dimpled was exposed but he didn't care at the moment. He liked making Geoff flustered. The brown haired boy looked kinda cute when he was embarrassed. He looked smaller almost. Softer. Geoff might've looked like your typical gamer in some aspects but in others, he defied expectations. His arms were one of those expectations. His biceps were larger and more tan than Awsten's, although it looked like it was through minimal effort.

“All of your love interests have another person pursuing them. These are your romantic rivals. For you to have someone's heart turn red, you must beat your romantic rival in at least three of the five romantic events with your love interest. Any questions?” Briar explained the concept so quickly that Awsten wasn't exactly following but nodded anyways. Awsten was worried when the word rival came up in conversation. He wasn't really the competitive type when it came to anything, let alone love. Geoff on the other hand? His interest only piqued when he heard the word rival.

“Is there a boss battle?” Geoff shook his head at Awsten's stupidity. Games of this variety didn't have boss battles or any real danger. They didn't need to worry so much about being killed by enemies. They needed to worry about finding Awsten's future soulmate. That was what was going to save them from dying. Not from slaying a dragon or saving a princess but by getting the purple haired boy a fiance.

“Your final mission is to find your soulmate and make them fall in love with you.” The blue fairy explained to the oblivious boy. Geoff didn't know what kind of person Awsten was aside from the fact that he was kind of an asshole. He could only hope that he took this as seriously as he did. Maybe it would help him turn on the charm or dress like a normal person or something. After all, a nice smile only got you so far. “Any questions?”

“Do I keep my player two or do I need to keep putting in coins?” Geoff looked at Awsten ludicrously. He couldn't have possibly been serious. “What? I make minimum wage.” Awsten couldn't help but defend himself. The flower shop didn't pay him fantastically but he liked it there. He got to take home flowers every day. The customers were always kind. His coworker was cheerful. The hours didn't make him want to die. It was a good gig he had going.

“Player two has been activated. The more money put into their grave, the better they can assist you. With more money in the grave, they can give you better hints, tips and tricks. With less money in the grave, their help is limited.” Briar provided a slightly vague answer that got the pair of them thinking about the money situation. How much was too little and how much was too much? Awsten couldn't exactly afford that much between food, bills and rent. Geoff wasn't even sure how he was even supposed to be making money. He was supposed to be dead. That sort of thing made jobs harder to obtain. “Any questions?”

“How do we contact you if we need you?” Awsten couldn't think of any other important questions but he knew something important would hit him in a couple of days. He was sure of it. Awsten was the type of person to come up with a witty comeback a few days too late. He tended to overthink the situations he was put in probably more than he should. One of his old therapists once said it was an unhealthy amount but he tried to dismiss that.

“We won't need her.” Geoff assured the pastel boy. If Geoff had it his way, he would never see this blue fairy again. He had committed almost every piece of what she said to his memory. Geoff treated the rules of this game like his bible, even if he wasn't religious. He wondered if Awsten was. “No good gamer needs to revisit the tutorial.”

“You can summon me by inserting a single nickel into Geoff Wigington's grave.” Awsten found it almost comical how perfectly Briar ignored Geoff. He didn't care if it was in her code or not. He liked feeling like the most important person in the room. He wasn't used to it. “That will allow me access to ask one question. You can only do this once a month. Any questions?”

“I'm all good. You?” Awsten peered over to the other player, awaiting confirmation. He tugged on the sleeves of his sweaters. Awsten always grabbed his sweaters a couple sizes too big. He loved having his sleeves cover the palms of his hands when he got cold. Tonight was one of the colder nights of the last week. He felt sorry for Geoff, sporting only a tight tee shirt. Geoff didn't appear to be cold though.

“I think that's everything.” Geoff nodded, looking back at Awsten. It was obvious that the purple haired boy was cold and Geoff felt bad. If Geoff was wearing anything other than a shirt, he would've offered it to the boy. He could feel himself slowly softening for the other boy. It probably wouldn't last very long. Nothing in Geoff's life ever did.

“No.” Awsten answered, a bittersweet feeling laying between his eyes. He was nervous and excited and terrified and thrilled all at the same time. His emotions were a roller coaster right now. This was a step towards the rest of his life or the end of it. He just didn't know what it was. That didn't help any of his feelings.

“Awesome! Have fun and enjoy your time playing King of Hearts! Your game starts now.” After her closing remark, Briar vanished just as quickly as she appeared. Awsten locked eyes with Geoff one final time before turned on his heel and walked away almost as quickly as the fairy disappeared. Geoff stood there completely and utterly dumbfounded. An hour ago, he was dead and now thanks to some weird video game magic, he was alive and well. Geoff barely noticed the pale white light as he stood in the light of the moon.

“You coming?” Awsten's head was turned over his shoulder. It was clear that he was trying his best not to shiver. At some point during Briar's tutorial, he realized Geoff probably didn't have anywhere to go. He couldn't let his support be homeless. What good would Geoff be dead? Awsten wouldn't admit to himself that he was worried about would've happened to the other boy on the street.

“Uh, yeah.” Geoff was taken back at the offer. “Okay.” He hadn't even thought about where he would stay after the lecture. He had just assumed he would spend the night in the graveyard and figure out the rest in the morning. Awsten turned back around and continued at his pace. Geoff had to jog to catch up to him. It was during the jog that Geoff noticed the source of the pale white light. On the left side of his chest was a tiny grey heart.


	2. A Challenger Appears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm looking for a beta. Ideally, they would proof read, tell me if everything flows/makes sense/isn't too vague and potentially give input for future plotlines. If anyone is interested, let me know.

“I have to go to work now.”

Geoff either didn't hear him or he didn't care. His eyes were taped to the episode of Steven Universe that was playing on Awsten's almost vintage laptop. The older boy laid on the couch, feet dangling off the end of the brown leather sofa. Awsten had gotten the couch from a friend a few years back and the leather was starting to crack all those years ago. A new couch was in his future whenever he got the money. Geoff sat up slowly, yawning. He stretched his hands over his head causing the hem of the yellow shirt Awsten lent him to ride up very slightly, exposing a light trail of hair.

“I'm not leaving you here.” Awsten explained, exhaling softly. It wasn't that he didn't trust Geoff, although yeah, he didn't. He just met the guy yesterday or if you wanted to get technical, very early this morning. “Get dressed.” Awsten dropped the clothes on Geoff's lap. Awsten had spent the last fifteen minutes going through his closet trying to find something that would fit Geoff. Shirts were easy. He always got his things a few sizes too large. Pants was more of the issue. Geoff was a bit taller than Awsten and a bit heavier.

“Sweatpants? Really?” Geoff mused, inspecting the pair of grey sweats. Awsten wasn't a fan of track pants but they always came in handy when he was traveling. Flying in jeans was a pain he never wanted to experience again. “It's like you're trying to make me ugly.” Even if Awsten was trying, he wasn't exactly succeeding. He'd never tell Geoff that though.

“You're taller than me. My jeans won't fit you with those fucking giraffe legs.” Awsten's head was killing him. Last night was a warning for this morning. He had already taken three painkillers and his head was still on the verge of exploding. Geoff scoffed at the choice of sweater Awsten had given him. It was a pastel pink hoodie. Awsten had tried to pick one of the more neutral pieces in his wardrobe. It was either the pink hoodie or a multicolored knitted jumper. 

“What do you even want me to do all day?” Geoff sort of thought that he was just going to spend the day in Awsten's shitty little apartment. It was a disaster zone. Clothes were everywhere. When Geoff first had walked into the place, he was greeted by Guess, Gucci, Puma, Supreme and the rest of them. If Geoff loved video games, then Awsten adored clothes. The only real piece of furniture he had other than the couch and his bed was an end table for his laptop. It was clear that clothing was more of a priority than the state of his apartment. “You're working.”

“You're coming with me and helping me find my soulmate.” Awsten stated obviously. He didn't think that this was a conversation they should even be having. It wasn't normal to leave a stranger alone with all of your belongings, let alone your designer clothing. Even if he wasn't worried about the state of his specialty sneakers, Awsten only had a year to find his soulmate and get them to fall in love with him. He needed all the help he could get and he needed it right now.

“So I'm just supposed to hang out at your work all day trying to find them for you?” Geoff argued, more irritated than angry. He was tired. He had so much to catch up on. Games. Movies. Books. TV shows. The world didn't stop for him when he died. He had too much to catch up on to be hanging around Awsten's work all day. Awsten sighed, looking at his phone quickly. 7:23AM. The fluffy dog set as his lockscreen made him smile, even if it was just for a second.

“Look, I don't really have time to fight you on this. My shift starts in half hour.” Awsten was ready to launch into a rather loud lecture but before he got the chance, Geoff rose from the couch. Awsten was ready for his morning coffee when he woke up almost an hour and a half earlier. An hour and a half ago, he was in a good mood despite the throbbing in his head. An hour and a half ago, his hopes and dreams were crushed. The twenty-three year old had forgotten to pick up more from the store.

“We're getting coffee.” Geoff grumbled begrudgingly, before locking himself into the tiny bathroom to change. He emerged a couple minutes later in the odd outfit, hood pulled up over his head. Awsten made a mental note that pink suited the other boy. It brought out his sun-kissed skin, which confused Awsten a bit. How did a dead gamer have darker skin than him? “For the record, wake me up fifteen minutes early next time. I wanted a shower.” Geoff tossed the dirty clothes into the small pile of his clothes forming near the foot of couch.

“No time.” Awsten mumbled, fumbling with his set of house keys before getting them in the hole. He made it a priority to get Geoff a key today. A key, some boxers and coffee. Everything else could wait until payday on Friday. “Ready?” Geoff nodded. The pair left the apartment in almost silence as the sound of their shoes hit the floor quietly. Awsten wasn't sure how Geoff was resurrected wearing a pair of grey Vans but he wasn't complaining. He didn't even want to think about the nightmare that would've been finding the other boy shoes. Once the two boys were out of the apartment, Awsten guided them towards a near by cafe he frequented. He opened the door to the coffee shop when he instantly heard an 8-bit version of a catchy pop song that was played frequently on the radio.

“Holy fuck.”

Awsten looked towards his usual barista in awe. She flipped her blonde hair out of her eyes but for some reason, it was in slow motion. She resumed her normal speed as she laughed at something one of her coworkers was saying. Geoff was almost positive on her role in the game but his eye fell to the left side of her chest. A small grey heart. Awsten was still in shock.

“Potential soulmate.” Geoff whispered to the pastel boy, nudging his shoulder. Awsten lived up to his aesthetic more than usual today, sporting a baby pink Guess shirt. He was trying his best to look nice for any potential soulmates he might run into and it was a good thing he did. “Blonde barista.” Awsten immediately felt less at ease than usual. He brushed a small wrinkle towards the bottom of his of light shirt.

“What color is her heart?” Awsten mumbled back, walking towards the counter. He wasn't sure if anything he did before the game officially started effected his current standings with any of his soulmates. If he fucked up with one already, did it count? Would they remember it at all? It would've been an excellent question to ask Briar. He hadn't messed anything up with her yet. At least he didn't think so. If previous feelings were taken into account at all, her heart should've been yellow already in Awsten's mind.

“Grey.” Like mine. Okay, so Geoff didn't actually tell Awsten that he had a heart on his chest. The odds of him being Awsten's soulmate were a mere ten percent. It wasn't worth either of their time to even entertain the idea. He wasn't even sure if Awsten was aware that he liked men and he wasn't just going to tell him. What if he didn't know? It was obvious that the boy was bisexual at least. Potentially pansexual. Even with that as a possibility, the barista seemed much more his type. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Nice smile. Female.

“Awsten! Hi!” The barista chirped, flashing the pair a nearly perfect smile. Geoff looked down at the left side of her chest again, trying to will the grey heart away to turn yellow or fade away. He wasn't sure which one he wanted more. Luckily for Geoff, the left side of her chest also had a name tag that read 'Michaela' in small silver letters. “Who's your friend over here?”

“That's, uh, Geoff.” Awsten got tongue tied around pretty girls. He wasn't the most popular person in high school and it definitely started to manifest in his adult life. His people skills were sub-par at best, although he struggled with pretty girls the most. Especially ones with blonde hair and blue eyes. They always seemed to remind him of the girls who rejected him in high school.

“I'm, uh, Geoff.” The gamer flashed the worker a quick odd looking smile, earning a giggle from the girl. Geoff could see why Awsten might want to spend the rest of his life with her. She was conventionally attractive in almost every way. Even if she did vaguely resemble the step mother from The Parent Trap. “And I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're Michaela?” Geoff had decided that she was younger than the both of them, settling on the fact she was probably only eighteen or nineteen. Geoff thought she might've even been in a sorority if she was in college.

“You got it! What can I get you?” Geoff looked at Awsten more confused than anything else. Geoff didn't exactly have any money on him. One of the many downsides of spending the last three years in the ground. Awsten nodded at the older boy. Geoff didn't leave the house much back when he was alive the first time. His social skills were underdeveloped more so than your standard nerd or geek. Awsten's nod was quite literally that to him; a nod. Geoff hesitated, shooting the other boy a questioning glance.

“I'm buying your coffee asshole.” Awsten rolled his eyes at his oblivious partner. He hadn't fully realized how life changing video games were to Geoff. They absolutely ruled his life which ruled out ever going outside and by extension, ever coming into contact with another human being. Awsten could already tell that this was something the two of them would have to work on. Maybe he could get Travis to come over and help him out.

“Be nice.” Geoff mumbled softly, shooting him glance. Maybe Awsten wasn't as great as he thought at social cues either. He had no idea that Geoff was trying to remind him about his potential soulmate situation. One of those potential soulmates, in fact, had just heard him be a bit of an asshole. Briar didn't mention hearts turning any color worse than grey, so maybe it didn't matter all that much. It's not like Michaela's hear could turn black or anything.

“Didn't know you had a temper.” Michaela noted playfully, eyes bouncing back and forth between the two. Geoff seemed to bring out a side of Awsten she hadn't seen before. It was interesting. His body language showed him to be more relaxed yet the words that came out of his mouth had shown the exact opposite. She had enrolled in a psych class for the upcoming school year and was thankful. She couldn't wait to start being able to read the people around her better.

“I don't h-”

“He's just fucking with me. Does it a lot.” Awsten stared at Geoff dumbfounded by his claim. The pair had just met six hours ago. “He's actually a great guy. I lost my job recently and got evicted. He's letting me stay with him until I get back on my feet.” Geoff shot the other boy a smile and the pieces clicked in Awsten's head. Geoff was trying to help him look good in front of her. It didn't matter how much of an ass he had been. Geoff was insisting on helping him.

“Oh no! You poor thing.” Michaela replied sympathetically, a small frown present on her face. She tended to be more empathetic than the average person. A cough from a customer behind the pair snapped her back into reality. The morning rush would be hitting any minute now. She placed her hand on the register. “That's horrible. I'm glad you have someone like that in your life. What're you having?”

“Yeah. I don't know what I'd do without a guy like him.” Geoff confessed more truthfully than he expected. It was because of Awsten he wasn't homeless, naked and hungry. Sure, he seemed a bit rough around the edges but he seemed like a decent enough person. “But uh, I'll have a large coffee. Two sugars, three cream.” His smokey blue eyes glanced over to another barista -or maybe a baker- placing muffins onto a serving tray. The smell made Geoff practically drool. He hadn't had anything to eat in literal years. He had tried to raid Awsten's apartment the night before for something to eat with no luck. The boy's fridge held a case of peach La Croix, a jar of pickles and a half eaten salad. “And can I get one of those muffins? They smell great.”

“For sure!” Michaela replied, turning her attention to the unusually quiet boy. She couldn't help but flash Awsten another smile. There was something about him that made her really happy. It was probably the fact that him, along with half of the rest of the male population, couldn't speak properly around her. That and the extra attention he gave her. He also wasn't awful to look at, which was a plus in her eyes. “Let me guess. The usual?”

“Absolutely.” Awsten returned the smile but wasn't happy internally. Michaela was the first of his potential soulmates to be revealed and she was incredibly out of his league. Neither of them had to say it. He just knew. If this told him anything about the nine other people he was going to discover, it was that this game was about to be a lot harder than he thought. A part of him hoped that Michaela might've been like playing a game on hard mode; that she was the only love interest that was set to such a challenging difficulty. He knew that probably wasn't true. “Throw on another muffin too.” She nodded and entered in the order as quickly as possible. The register popped open quickly and shut almost just as fast. 

“I need to pay you.” Geoff couldn't focus on the scene in front of him. His mind was going a mile a millisecond with information on the other love interest. Michaela. Michaela Okland. Her likes and dislikes ran through Geoff's mind like his life flashed before his eyes when he died the first time. There was a moment of clarity, a brief pause before all the additional content flooded into his brain. Her schedule, her birthday and her fears entered his brain. He also obtained a small memory that didn't belonged to him. He could only assume that since the memory featured a little blonde girl, it was one of Michaela's childhood memories.

Michaela ignored Awsten's declaration, walking towards the display counter to get the two banana nut muffins. It wasn't like she used her employee discount on herself anyways. Michaela wasn't much of a coffee person. She was positive the owner wouldn't miss eight dollars anyways. She had thought about giving him free stuff in the past, she did it for regulars all the time, especially ones that tipped well. Something was just holding her back.

“She likes flowers.” Geoff spat the information out the second she was out of earshot. His lips moved quickly, as if the content was burning against his tongue. “Pink. Jewelry too. She likes necklaces best. She loves dogs. Her birthday is on the fourth of April.” Geoff had no clue how he knew any of this. It must've been the money Awsten put in the grave. This was how he was supposed to help him. Awsten might've been playing a game but Geoff was his cheat codes. With his help, Awsten would have everything he needed to win over Michaela. “She works every morning except Saturdays. I don't know why but I saw a memory of her's involving peach pie and her grandma.”

“How the fuc-”

“I don't know. The game.” Geoff hissed to Awsten before swiftly elbowing the shorter boy. Michaela walked back towards the pair with their muffins in hand. Geoff didn't know it yet but the second muffin was for him.Their drinks arrived moment earlier thanks to another barista. Suddenly Awsten felt better. Lighter. Sure, she might've been out of his league but he had a leg up on the competition. He had an answer key to every question she was going to ask. He had Geoff.

“I need to pay you.” Awsten repeated. He was rather persistent about that sort of stuff. Awsten's biggest pet peeve was owing anyone anything. If he owed someone something, they were entitled to that. Maybe entitlement was the thing he had actually had an issue with. If that was the case, debts would've been a very close second. Obligations served no place in his life. Not now, not ever.

“For these? No way. They're on the house.” Michaela explained quietly, extending the two small bags out to the duo. She didn't want her entire clientele to know that she was breaking the rules and especially not her boss. He was due to come in sometime in the next few minutes. Geoff was convinced a smile permanently stayed on Michaela's face while she was working. Either way, he took the two bags out out her extended hand and dipped into the one on the right, ripping off a piece of the muffin and popping it into his mouth.

“What? No!” Geoff didn't care about Awsten and his shrill voice. All he cared about was the incredible taste of the muffin that was currently in his mouth. The flavors all swirled together on his tongue; banana, cinnamon and walnut. Instinctively, Geoff reached back into the bag and tore off an even larger piece than last time and threw it into his mouth. “Absolutely not.”

“You're helping out a friend of yours. The least I can do is help you out.” Awsten didn't want her pity or her sympathy. He could take care of himself and Geoff just fine. Even if his fridge was empty and he had two more days until he got paid. He really didn't need any favors. “Wait a sec. We're looking for help right now. I totally spaced.” He lied. He needed a favor. He needed that specific favor. “Geoff, you should apply.” A loud cough came from behind the pair again. Geoff either didn't notice or didn't care.

“Really?” He replied as best as he could with his mouth full of muffin. Seriously, what did they put in this stuff? Geoff peeled the paper wrapper off of the muffin and threw the remainder of it in his mouth. Michaela giggled at the sight. He couldn't explain it to her. If he told her this was the best, no wait, only, thing he had eaten in years, he wasn't quite sure she would believe him. He was better off to just let her think he was really, really hungry.

“Yeah. Drop a resume off. I'll set something up with my manager.” Michaela wondered if Geoff was always this hungry. If she knew this is how he was, she would've thrown in a vanilla scone or something in with the muffins. Geoff thrusted the other muffin bag towards Awsten who shook his head. Geoff shrugged and started to get to work on the other muffin. Awsten had his coffee and that's all he needed in the morning. He was still trying to figure out how to stretch the last of his money over the next couple days. Even when he was supposed to get paid, he had to set aside money for rent, grab food and Geoff needed some of his own clothes. This month was going to be rough.

“You're amazing.” Awsten grinned, dropping a ten dollar bill in the tip jar. It might've been a third of the money he had left for the next little while but Awsten Knight would be damned if he owed anyone anything. If looks could kill, Michaela would've been charged for attempted murder. “What? I'm just tipping my favorite barista.” She would've fought him on the subject harder if the customer behind him didn't let out another cough.

“Shut up.” Her eyes followed Geoff's rhythmic pattern of eating. A piece of muffin. Twelve bites. Reach for another piece. Three more bites. Swallow. He was done before Awsten could even reply and made his way to the trash can. If Michaela had known that they would be gone that quickly, she would've served them on a plate. She didn't view herself as an environmentalist per se but she did her best to try and keep the cafe's trash situation under control. She was in the process of trying to convince her boss to switch to recyclable bags for the baked goods.

“Is that any way to treat your favorite customer?” Awsten retorted, a small pout present. Geoff was on his was back and noticed the two were flirting. He knew a lot about flirting in theory but a lot less in practice. He couldn't tell if the flirting was intentional or not. Geoff got the vibe that Michaela was a flirty type of person. He braced himself as he returned to the counter.

“Who said you were my favorite?” Awsten's heart couldn't help but sink a little, even if she was smirking at him. He grabbed the left side of his chest dramatically, earning a laugh from the barista. Geoff had no doubt that the pair were flirting anymore. He was silently praying for an escape or some kind of exit. It came in the form of a cough. “Take your stuff and get out of here before I get in trouble.” The pair grabbed their drinks and with a quick wave, they were on their way.

It was only as the boys were leaving the coffee shop that Michaela was able to place it. Awsten was talking about something passionately, his hands rising and falling like waves hitting against the shoreline. He was walking in front of Geoff, looking irritated but not angry. Geoff was laughing at whatever he was saying. Geoff opened the stain glass door, allowing Awsten pass him. When the morning sun hit Geoff's torso, it clicked in her mind. Geoff was wearing Awsten's sweater.

**********

The walk to Awsten's workplace wasn't very long. That was one of the reasons the younger boy had yet to get a car. It was that paired with the fact he couldn't afford it or any of the various fees that came with driving. As they approached a tiny flower shop, Awsten began to slow down. They appeared to already be open. Hundreds of bouquets were outside, all with different arrangements and different colors. Geoff's eyes gravitated towards the ones that featured green lilies. They were his favorite.

“No fucking way.” Geoff remarked under his breath. He couldn't believe that Awsten actually had a job that matched his fucking aesthetic. Actually, he could. It made sense as to why one of the only things covering the walls of Awsten's apartment was an array of pressed flowers. The only other thing on his walls were three photos of a blonde girl wearing a red and white flower crown. The shots featured her smiling, laughing and looking at a sunset in a field. The shots almost made the nearly empty apartment look more alive.

“Excuse me?” Where Awsten's genetics failed with his questionable sight, he had immaculate hearing. There was no keeping anything hidden from the younger boy. If the words were uttered in his presence, it was certain he would hear it. His eyes, although beautiful, were god awful. He needed to wear glasses constantly although he didn't. He didn't like the way he looked in them. They made him look younger than he already did. Contacts were out of the question either. Awsten was terrified of putting anything anywhere close to his eyes. He regretted the fear when guyliner was a trend nearly a decade ago. Without the aid of contacts or glasses, Awsten walked around with less than perfect vision.

“That's why you brought flowers.” His mind flashed back to earlier that morning, back before the sun was out. Awsten had brought him a bouquet of sunflowers. The yellow stained his mind like a stubborn hair dye. Sunflowers were an interesting choice to bring to a grave considering one of their many meanings indicated longevity. Rebecca had taught him some meanings of flowers when he was younger. He swept the other meanings aside when they came to mind.

“I'm not going to visit someone without flowers.” Geoff actually listened to what Awsten had to say that time, surprisingly. Awsten was used to talking but not actually having the people around him listen. It was something he dealt with a lot when he was at home with his parents. His parents focused the majority of their time on his younger sister Gracie. He tried not to hold it against him. It was clear that she needed more attention between cheerleading, softball and band. He was certain they were a little relieved when she got accepted into college and started spending most of her time on campus for once.

“You're only supposed to bring people who matter flowers.” When Geoff was alive, he never got flowers. It was only after he passed away that everyone he knew felt the need to bring them to him. The first week along, he saw more flowers than he had ever seen while he was alive. It was enough to drown him, although it was obvious that the flowers weren't for him. They were for the people mourning. The act of giving him the flowers merely cleared their conscience. Nobody knew him like they wanted to. It was during that time that Geoff promised himself that if he was alive, he would give everyone he loved flowers before they died. He wanted everyone to know what they meant to him before it was too late. Geoff didn't know he would actually get the chance.

“I guess you matter then Gee-off.” Awsten scoffed, opening the door to the small flowers shop. He had used the irritating nickname in hopes of taking some of the edge off of his unintentional compliment. The chimes rang overhead of the two of them but were drowned out by the sound of an 8-bit rendition of a slow neon pop punk song. Awsten felt his heart sink.

“No.” Awsten whispered to himself. If it was at all possible, he would've appreciated the ground to open up and swallow him whole. Anything was better than hearing the soundtrack currently playing in his ears. Awsten had been afraid of this happening. He tried to crush the thought the moment it came to his mind but had no such luck. His worst nightmare was happening. Actually, it was standing in front of him. “No. No. No. No. No.”

Across the store, a tall blonde girl was moving in slow motion. She was opening open a fridge door with her shoulder and putting in a bucket full of red roses. Geoff recognized the girl immediately. She was the girl from the photos on Awsten's wall. Geoff was starting to notice that Awsten had a type. The girl shared some similarities with Michaela. This girl also had blonde hair, blue eyes and a decent figure. She too was beautiful. 

“Not her. Please not her. Anyone but her.” Before he saw her, Awsten was sort of hoping that maybe the song was playing for someone else. She had never called in sick up until this point but it was a possibility. It easily could've been one of his other coworkers. It could've been playing for Ben, the married man with sandy blonde hair. It could've been playing for Tay, the loudmouth girl who just graduated high school. It could've been playing for Alex, the blue haired guy in his late twenties. Any of this other coworkers would have been better than her.

“Please tell me she doesn't have a heart on her chest. Please.” He didn't know that Geoff's eyes were glued to the heart on her chest since the moment the two of them walked in. It was grey, just like Michaela's. Geoff was starting to think that everybody's heart defaulted at the color grey at this point. “Geoff. Please.” He teared his eyes away from the heart on the girl's chest and faced the panicked boy. Geoff could lie and say that there was nothing there and use the song to try and announce the heart on his own chest. He threw the idea aside and nodded. The girl looked over her shoulder before she regained her speed.

“You're late.” The blue eyed girl mentioned, eyeing Geoff quickly before deciding she wasn't interested. Geoff eyed the grey heart on her chest carefully, silently willing the heart to explode. This girl, although she vaguely resembled Michaela, seemed very different. She seemed harsher. More cold. Bitter almost. Whatever. Every game needed a tsundere and it looked like this girl was it. Something had happened to this girl. She wasn't the same person as the one Geoff saw in the photographs.

“You could say hi you know Ciara.” Awsten replied bitterly, taking a long sip of his iced americano. He neglected it on the walk over in favor of catching up on with Geoff on the new information about Michaela. He used to bring her drinks but didn't anymore. He used to do a lot of things for her.

“Didn't know it was take your friend to work today. Must've missed the memo.” Ciara replied coldly, shutting the fridge behind her carefully. She wasn't fond of the cold but it wasn't like Awsten actually helped her with her tasks anymore. He used to do all of the heavy lifting. Ciara didn't think that flowers could be that heavy when she started working at the shop. A single rose had little to no weight but a hundred of them plus a couple gallons of water was an entirely different story. Her arms started to ache every day after work around last fall.

“Please. As if any of your drunk dumbass friends would even show up.” Awsten snarled in reply. That was something he could never understand about Ciara. She was a gorgeous girl that was practically sweating potential and she let it go to waste. She didn't think college was worth her time so she never went. She didn't think that the majority of the general public was 'interesting' or 'deep' enough to interact with so she chose to spend her time with losers. She didn't think it was worth taking a shot on modeling so she never called that agency that asked her to. It didn't matter how smart or funny or beautiful she was. Ciara kept making bad choices.

“At least I have friends.” Geoff's eyes bounced back and forth between the two of them. It was like playing Pong on Japan hard mode. That was one of his favorite little facts of gaming trivia. North American hard mode on the majority of the video games that came to the west was actually Japan's medium difficulty setting. Geoff wasn't sure what to do with himself. It was like the coffee shop all over again but in reverse. That's when it hit him.

“I have friends.” The information hit Geoff like a tidal wave. Ciara Hanna. Her birthday was January 20th. A love of acting, sushi and flowers. A surprising interest in the civil war. Scared of bees. She worked every day with the exception of Saturday and Sunday. On her days off, she hung out by the old military site or at a place called Howl at the Moon. She drew in her free time but she didn't view herself as an artist. A memory of Ciara's entered Geoff's mind. It was recent. She was in a light blue gown in a hospital bed. Around the girl were no flowers, balloons or presents.

“Your childhood best friend who lives across the hall doesn't count. Neither does your high school buddy who does photography.” Travis and Jawn counted, Awsten didn't need to say it out loud to know that it was true. He remembered the moment he met both of his friends. Awsten met Travis on the first day of second grade. Travis was trying to swing over the top of the swing set but according to Awsten, he was doing it all wrong. Awsten showed him how to push himself better by kicking his legs in time with the speed of the swing. He didn't get to the top that day but he got something better; Awsten. Jawn was a much different story involving puke all over his pumas.

“I have friends.” Awsten asserted, gesturing to a very awkward looking Geoff. Was that memory the reason Ciara was so awful? Geoff wasn't sure. The only thing he was absolutely positive about was he didn't want to have to tell Awsten about it. He could barely make any sense of it on his own. He didn't want to discuss it but he might not have had a choice. He needed context to fully be able to help the purple haired boy. “Geoff's right here.”

“Oh please.” Ciara rolled her eyes. It was going to be a long day if the arguing persisted, Geoff could see it already. He couldn't figure out why the two were at each other's throats and he couldn't be bothered to ask why. He was too busy trying to figure out if Awsten had a better shot at Michaela or Ciara and more importantly, if either of them would actually be his soulmate. “Your boyfriend doesn't count.”

“My what?” Awsten's breath caught in his throat. His eyes almost popped out of his head like one of those horrifying dog toys. Awsten's focus was finding his soulmate, not spending his time on someone that wasn't. He didn't even like Geoff. He barely tolerated his existence and that was because he needed him for something. He was metaphorically handcuffed to Geoff for an entire year. He hoped that the other boy would grow on him.

“Your boyfriend.” Ciara shrugged her shoulders, as if she was stating the most obvious thing. She noted the pink sweater Geoff was wearing the second the pair walked into the flower shop. She had bought it for Awsten two years ago. She wasn't sure if Awsten even remembered that she was the one that gave it to him but it still stung. “He's wearing your sweater after all. Or do you always bring your one night stands to work?” Awsten had to make a choice. He could either confess to Ciara that he had been single for the last nine months or he could tell a little lie.

“My boyfriend counts.” Geoff immediately snapped back to reality the second he heard the word boyfriend come out of Awsten's taffy colored lips. Boyfriend was a big word. Sure, they were living together and everything but boyfriend seemed a bit much considering he was supposed to be winning Ciara over, not pushing her away. He shot a look over to Awsten that he didn't reply. Instead, Awsten just grabbed the other boy's hand, which was a huge mistake. Geoff's hand felt like the burner on a stove, causing Awsten to practically recoil at the heat.

“Knew you were gay.” Ciara replied, voice filled with certainty. She had doubted the boy's sexuality a couple times over the last few years. He constantly talked about being straight and how he wished that he liked men because of how good looking he found them. He often had more male celebrity crushes than female ones. Maybe it was the fact he was the human embodiment of gay culture; cuffed jeans, tucked in shirts, a brunch obsession. It made sense. Awsten wasn't always the most self aware person around.

“I'm actually bi.” The words left his mouth before he thought about the consequences. Awsten didn't think the first person he would be coming out to was Ciara but then again, he didn't think he'd be holding hands with a dead dude either. It sounded weird to hear the words coming out in his own voice. He remembered the warm hand in his grasp, realizing he also just came out to someone else. He looked at Geoff, trying to gauge some kind of reaction, positive or negative. Geoff's eyes remained on the now interlocked hands.

“Close enough.” Ciara remarked carefully. She was in the service industry and although she was in the south, she couldn't exactly show an bias or say anything to risque. Ciara wasn't homophobic by any means, she just had a couple jokes at Awsten's expense that she wanted to throw out there. She had one on the tip of her tongue but swallowed it down to her empty stomach. She shot Geoff a look of sympathy. “Good luck with him. You'll need it, Nintendo boy.” It was the first time Geoff actually got a good look at the other girl in person. Her hair was straight this time instead of tucked into loose beach esque waves.

“It's actually Geoff.” Geoff forced a closed mouth smile to Ciara. If Geoff was being honest, Ciara intimidated him way more than she should for a girl who stood about as high as his shoulder. Her skin was just as flawless in the flesh as it was on film. Whoever had been doing the editing didn't have anything to fix. Her blue eyes popped just as much in the flower shop as they did in the field. Ciara remained almost exactly the same. The only difference was instead of a spellbinding smile there was a tight lipped pout present on her face.

“Whatever Zelda.” She hadn't noticed his nose ring before. Ciara did a quick once over of the boy. Brown, shaggy hair. Unstyled but still stylish. Eyes that matched hers almost flawlessly. A nice smile, even if it wasn't real. Tall. Much taller than Awsten. “If you're hanging out here all day, at least stay out of my way.” She determined that he wasn't unattractive. He was cute in sort of a boy next door way. He just needed a haircut and a makeover. Seriously, who told him it was okay to wear sweats outside? She shook her head at the thought and headed towards the back of the shop.

“Well she's a ray of sunshine.” Geoff laughed, waiting til she was most definitely out of earshot. Ciara was beautiful but with an attitude like that, it made sense why she was spending her time in a flower shop instead of somewhere better. Awsten made even less sense. “Tell me she isn't always like that.” Geoff didn't imagine he would be spending every day at the flower shop but if he was, he was praying that Ciara wasn't always that hostile.

“Not always.” Awsten realized his hand was still in Geoff's. Looking at the fingers intertwined looked a little weird. Geoff's hand practically swallowed his. Awsten never thought he had small hands up until this point. He was just pretty sure that Geoff's hands were massive. He pulled his hand away quickly. “Sorry. But yeah, just around me.” Geoff looked at his now empty hand with mixed feelings. He sort of liked how cold it was. It was like having another iced coffee in his hand.

“I can't imagine a version of that girl being happy.” Geoff was lying but he wasn't about to admit that instead of watching something and going to bed like he promised the purple haired boy the night before, he did a bit of snooping around the apartment. He didn't want to let on that he knew Ciara from before walking into the store. Geoff thought Ciara was beautiful but she looked much nicer with a smile instead of whatever she was doing earlier.

“You'd be surprised.” Awsten ejected a small breath, his mind filled with the past. One memory more so than the others played in his head on repeat. If it was possible to have PTSD from something as mild as this, he was positive he would've had it. It consisted of Ciara smiling and eventually laughing at some stupid joke that he said. “She used to be really happy.” Awsten excluded a part of the last sentence but it didn't matter anymore. It shouldn't.

“I'll take your word for it.” Geoff said dryly, shrugging his shoulders lightly. He had no desire to get to know Ciara Hanna. He was curious about Michaela Okland but to call it interest would be a stretch. He had come to the conclusion that neither of these girls were realistically his soulmate. They made up a mere twenty percent of the possible roster of potential people. Neither of them seemed to mesh with Awsten like a soulmate should. Then again, he didn't know what soulmates acted like aside from what he saw on TV. “Ciara Hanna. She li-”

“I don't need your help for this one.” Awsten declined the advice with ease. He didn't want to hear any more of Ciara than he absolutely had to. Whatever Geoff was going to say, he was positive knew. He knew Ciara inside and out at one point, with the exception of an important detail she kept out. A certain person, that is. He wasn't sure much had changed with Ciara. Nothing ever really did. She didn't let it.

“Dude, let me help.” Geoff's brain was filled to it's edges on information on the two potential soulmates. He wasn't actually sure that the seven other people's information would fit. Awsten couldn't possibly know everything about Ciara Hanna. Geoff felt like he was practically a Wikipedia page. He doubted Awsten's confidant reply. Geoff pressed on the subject. “I have so much information about this girl, it's going to drive me cra-”

“Geoff.” Awsten exhaled softly, locking eyes with the boy for the first time since they entered the shop. “Ciara's my ex-girlfriend.” Geoff was usually a calm and collected person. Nobody would have described him as impulsive. The once collected boy was surprised and with that foreign emotion came unforeseen actions. He responded with the only thing he could.

“Then you know she was in the hospital recently.”

He didn't think Awsten could get any paler than he already was. 

He was wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the off chance anyone was curious about the song that played when Geoff first popped out of the grave, it was Mr. Brightside by The Killers. The one that played during Michaela's intro was Don't Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers.


	3. It's A Secret To Everybody

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight trigger warning for body image issues and mentions of disordered eating.

As Awsten's week continued, he was seriously reconsidering his earlier claim of reality and video games being entirely different things. He was trapped somewhere in between the two of them. It was like reality had a semi-unrealistic flair. After he had taken Geoff to work on Wednesday, the two returned to the apartment to find a twenty dollar bill on the front step leading into their apartment. With a minor amount of teasing, Awsten brushed the event off as a lucky accident.

It was on Thursday that his skepticism grew. After much protest, Geoff stayed home that day. When he eventually left the apartment -somebody had to grab the instant coffee they had forgotten about- he was pulled into what he recounted as 'the most insane thing ever' to the other boy. Geoff had somehow been a witness to a mugging and before he knew what he was doing, he was chasing down the thief. After catching the culprit and returning the stolen purse to the victim, he was given a more-than-generous reward.

On Friday, any doubts that Awsten had were destroyed. They went to Geoff's grave only to find out that other people saw the name on the tombstone as one that didn't belong to Geoff. Their minds were bursting with questions and recalled that they could summon their guide and ask a single question. Despite Geoff's protests, their question was used to find out more about Geoff's dead or alive status. The pair were shocked to find out that until the end of their adventure, it was as if Geoff had never died. When Geoff found out about this, he promised himself that the moment he got a cell phone, he would try to contact his family.

Geoff's most pressing question was regarding how the fuck he was supposed to get any form of work documentation. The following morning, he was supposed to be meeting with Michaela's boss and as cool as staying home all day was, Geoff wanted to be productive. Or save up to buy a Switch. Whatever. After a rather large donation to Geoff's grave, a series of documents came into view. Geoff felt relieved.

Saturday morning came and went. Geoff, by some miracle, charmed the owner of the coffee shop and was hired before he got a chance to sit down. His first shift was supposed to be on Monday morning. And that was how Awsten Knight ended up in a mall on one of the last Saturdays of the summer.

"I thought you would like shopping." Geoff commented, checking out a blue Sonic shirt. The size read medium and although that should've been Geoff's size, he bought the shirt two sizes larger. He thought it would look better as a tank. When he was alive the first time around, he had a thing for turning his shirts into muscle tanks. Geoff was always warm for some reason and absolutely hated sweating. Muscle tees were a good alternative. "It looks like a mall exploded in your living room."

"I hate fast fashion." Admitting that out loud was easier than admitting that he was sort of expecting to use Geoff as a mannequin. Awsten brought him to the mall assuming he would be dressing Geoff in whatever he wanted. It was a good plan until Geoff tugged on the other boy's wrist, guiding him into every generic store Awsten hated. After four stores and six bags, Geoff insisted they checked out the men's section in Forever 21. Forever 21, H&M, Zara and other fast fashion clothing stores didn't have the quality of clothing Awsten preferred. He would've rather saved up and bought Geoff a couple of nice, good quality pieces than some mass produced piece of fabric everyone on Instagram had. "That's ugly. You're not buying that."

"I'm turning it into a tank." Geoff smiled, dropping it into the dark mesh bag. Awsten had somehow gotten suckered into not only paying for what he could only assume as an expensive shopping trip, but also holding all of Geoff's bags. Geoff had had what Awsten referred to as comfort clothing. Black pants. Stripes. Cooler tones. These were all things Geoff knew he already looked okay in. They were pieces he could feel comfortable in. Awsten had slid in a couple of riskier pieces -a red and black checkered shirt with white text on the front, a pink floral button down, a medium wash denim jacket, among others- into the bag, silently hoping that they wouldn't go into the changing room. If they didn't go there, Geoff might not notice. "It's gonna look cool."

"You wouldn't know cool if it came up and stabbed you." Awsten was holding a yellow knit sweater in his hands, practically choking on his previous opinion. It's like the universe was trying to spite him. It was a cute sweater after all. He tried to slip it in the bag before Geoff noticed. He knew he wouldn't hear the end of it if the older boy caught wind of Awsten's affinity for the collared sweater.

"Says the guy wearing a carpet." Geoff chuckled more to himself than to Awsten. "Seriously, why would you even buy that?" Awsten suddenly had the urge to leave the bag in the tacky establishment and let Geoff continue to borrow his clothes. Geoff didn't know that the jumper Awsten was wearing was almost an outfit of his Awsten had put together for him.

"It's vintage Dior." The purple haired boy scoffed, snatching a tacky graphic tee with a palm tree out of Geoff's hands. Awsten noted the LA tee on Geoff's arm. It would've been cute if it didn't declare a popular city. New York. LA. Tokyo. Tacky. "No California anything." Awsten had no doubts that Geoff could make the majority of the clothes in the store look incredible. He had a decent body from what he had seen when he walked into his apartment on Friday and caught his new roommate with a towel around his waist. He willed the memory to leave his mind. It refused.

"I'm from California." They hadn't gotten into any of the details of their past or anything of substance. Awsten didn't know how to ask about what sort of life he lived before he died so he stuck to asking what he wanted for dinner. "Anaheim." Geoff had remembered the move to Houston all those years ago. He left California when he was seven years old and hadn't gotten a chance to go back. Geoff hoped that when Awsten found his soulmate and lived happily ever after, he would get the chance to go back.

"And I'm from Houston. Nobody asked for your life story." Awsten spied a black and white tie dyed shirt on the opposite side of section and beelined for it immediately. He didn't expect Geoff to follow him but the taller boy did, checking out a few articles of clothing along the way. Awsten peeked back at Geoff, analyzing the other boy's tastes. He mentally cursed him for looking at yet another striped shirt.

"Maybe you should rep your city more." A tiny white ringer tee was thrown at Awsten. The collar and sleeves were red and on the left side of the shirt was a tiny embroidered cactus. Awsten rolled his eyes, flinging the girl shirt back at Geoff. He grabbed the tie dyed shirt and faced Geoff with it. Awsten was pretty sure he could sell Geoff on something neutral. Aside from a couple bits of blue, green and purple here and there, the majority of the things purchased were black and white. The shirt was taking a safe concept like colors and expanding out of it with an interesting pattern.

"Why would I want to? This place fucking sucks." Geoff nodded in response, both to the declaration and the shirt. "Besides, the only people that find cowboys attractive are middle aged women who've never left the south." Geoff held up the previously declined shirt reluctantly and was met with a shaking head. He put swapped the shirt with a button down with palm trees, a more subtle approach to the look he wanted. When he lifted the new shirt to Awsten, it was met with a nod. Geoff tried to stack the two shirts onto the small mountain of clothing in the bag with little luck.

"I guess that means I should try it all on." Awsten hated this part the most out of their shopping experience. On the floor, he had some control as to what made it to the fitting room. The second Geoff walked into the changing room, he lost that control. Geoff had the ability to accept or decline any of the pieces. It happened a couple of times at some of the previous stores. Awsten couldn't help but to start thinking back to the red floral blazer from Zara. Geoff had declined it but Awsten had gotten it anyways. He said it was for him but they both know it was a size too large.

"Fitting rooms are that way." Awsten gestured to the right, past the unusually short line. Despite Geoff's protests, Awsten insisted in waiting outside of the changing room. Geoff was to come out in every outfit. It reminded Geoff of back to school shopping with his mom. Geoff did it to himself when he sent Awsten a picture wearing a cardigan backwards. Apparently they didn't have cardigans under whatever rock Geoff was living under in 2015. When the pair got to the fitting room, they were greeted by a bored teen that led them both to the changing rooms.

It was when the pair parted that something changed. Geoff was in the changing room when it happened. An 8-bit version of an indie song played in his ears. The second he heard the sound, he slid the blue Sonic shirt over his bare torso. Geoff didn't care if he went out in the same sweatpants he had been shopping in. Geoff flung the door open as quickly as possible. He was greeted by Awsten's disapproving look and a girl with a friendly smile. Geoff's eyes instantly dropped to the left side of her chest. It had a name tag that read 'Chloe' and not much else. Where there should've been a grey heart, there was an empty space, invisible to the rest of the world.

"That looks great on you." Chloe tried as hard as possible to check Geoff out as subtly as she could. It didn't make much of a difference though, as Geoff was oblivious to any and all advances. Awsten noticed. He felt a weird stab in his gut. He didn't like it. "I'm Chloe. I was just chatting with your friend. Apparently you could use some help." He had no reason not to like her or not trust her. She was even giving off a warm and positive vibe; a thing that most people didn't. She smiled at Geoff and although her smile was bright, he could feel that pain again. He ignored it.

"I could use a lot of it." Geoff confessed to the employee, unsure of his answer. He hadn't responded that way to Awsten earlier at all. He wasn't sure if it was because she was cute or because she was dressed like a normal human being that he was so willing to accept her help. A woman's touch never hurt. Geoff tried to shoot the other boy a glance, silently inquiring if he too had heard the song. Awsten refused to look at him, deciding his fingernails were more interesting. Geoff abandoned the idea.

"Doubt it. The blue brings out your eyes. That's already a start." Chloe laughed softly, brushing a piece of her light brown to blonde ombre out of her face. Geoff noticed a pop of color on her arm, although he wasn't too concerned with her arm tattoo. He took more interest in the ones on her chest. Geoff wondered how many she had in total but didn't ask. "So do you have a name or-?" She asked.

"He has a habit of liking cool tones and stripes." Awsten felt like he didn't exist. They were having a moment without him. Sure, he didn't think that this weird game that they were playing was going to constantly be about him except, yeah, duh, he totally did. He was the first player and therefore the center of this alternate universe. It didn't make any sense. This was supposed to be about him finding love, not Geoff.

"I'm Geoff." Geoff looked at Awsten, surprised he had spoken. If Geoff was being entirely honest, he sort of forgot Awsten was even there. It was unusual for Awsten to fade into the background for even a second, let alone thirty. The other boy was always, not to mention rather loudly, expressing his opinion. "And there's nothing wrong with knowing what works." Chloe was right about the shirt bringing out the brunette's eyes but Awsten refused to accept it, as he did with most things from people he didn't care for.

"Sometimes you need to take risks." Awsten was might've been right but very rarely did he follow his own advice. He needed to take a risk. Not all of his potential soulmates had revealed themselves but of the two he had been presented, he was positive he should try and pursuit at least one of them. He tried to discard the thought of Ciara but she came back into his mind no matter how much he tried to think of the other blonde. There was a point in his life where he was convinced he would spend the rest of it with Ciara. Maybe that meant something.

"You're right. Every wardrobe needs balance." She was agreeing with him but Awsten could feel the underlying competitive tone. "Show me what else you've got." Between her words and her smile, Geoff was grinning before heading back into the cubical. When she looked back at Awsten, her smile was gone. It was replaced with a look of disapproval.

"Do you have something to say to me?" Awsten really didn't expect this girl to not like him. He didn't like not being liked. In Awsten's perfect world, he would've had everyone love him all the time. He craved the validation. He didn't understand why Chloe didn't like him. Maybe it was the same reason he didn't like her. No reason at all.

"Yeah. I don't really like you." She had watched the pair walk around the store during the majority of their trip. From where she was standing, it was mostly Awsten controlling Geoff. He would convince the taller boy to put pieces of clothing back. Even some of the items that made it in the bag were later removed without his knowledge. It wasn't a healthy relationship. Geoff was an adult who should've been making his own choices.

"Glad it's mutual." If nothing else, Awsten felt justified in disliking Chloe now. She was rude. This was her job. She should at least fake being nice at the very least. Awsten had half a mind to call her manager over and give them a piece of his mind. Fuck Forever 21.

"You don't treat him nicely." The two were interrupted by Geoff emerging in a faded black shirt with Kirby eating cake on the front. The pants were black and a bit longer than they should be. Instead of rolling them like Awsten would have, Geoff left them scrunched at the bottom.

"I love that."

"That looks awful."

The pair spoke in unison, tearing their eyes off of Geoff and looking at each other.

"The shirt suits him." Chloe argued, vaguely pointing to the boy standing in front of him. She was right but Awsten wasn't going to accept defeat that easily. Sure, the pink of the character brought out his tanned skin but the shirt was still a size too big. Awsten vowed he was going to break the other boy of his horrible clothing habits.

"The pants are too big." Anyone with eyes could see that Awsten was right about that. At the bottom of the black jeans were a good three inches of denim. It was clear that in the three years of Geoff being gone, he had forgotten his pants size.

"He can get the pants in a smaller size. He looks like he's a 30 wide, 36 long." It was like Chloe had remembered that she was supposed to be working. "Give me the pants when you come back out again and I'll go get them for you in your size." Geoff smiled at the sales girl. Awsten felt the pain in his gut again.

"Really? Yeah. Okay." Geoff looked past the two people in front of him and into the mirror. He still wasn't used to seeing himself. He hadn't had a physical form in years and could barely believe that any of this was actually happening. There was a few moments Geoff was convinced that this could've been some weird form of purgatory but this felt so mundane and real. He hadn't gone shopping like this in a long time, let alone with a friend. "I think I like it."

"If you like it, then get it." Awsten had spent all day fighting him on every piece of video game related clothing he had picked up. Asking Geoff to put them down was the equivilant of someone asking him to put down Puma. It wasn't happening anytime soon. He didn't care anymore. Geoff deserved to be comfortable in his clothing.

"Really?" Geoff was a bit surprised to say the least. Was the shirt so good that it had changed Awsten's mind? That couldn't possibly be it. He tried to find the answer in the other boy's eyes without any luck. Awsten nodded regardless. "Okay. Cool. I'll be back." It was only when the two heard the lock of the change room that they picked back up where they left off.

"What the fuck was that? Are you his dad or something?" Chloe wasn't entirely sure why she was so invested in a couple of guys she had just met. She was drawn to Geoff but she was also starting to think that dealing with his friend wasn't worth the trouble. Boys came and went in a store like hers constantly. It wasn't even like either of them stood out that much, even with the boy sitting next to her having purple hair.

"He's my roommate." That didn't explain his actions at all but he wasn't about to tell her everything they had gone through over the last few days. It wasn't like Chloe would've believed him anyways. He could barely believe himself some days. The only piece of proof he had from all of this was Geoff. Even with the other boy sleeping on his couch, there were times he wondered if he was hallucinating.

"You aren't acting like his roommate." Chloe thought of her roommate Vanessa and tried to think of an instance where she treated her like how she was seeing Geoff be treated. She couldn't think of one. "You're acting like an asshole."

"I'm buying his clothes. I can act however I want." Awsten didn't believe the words he was saying for a second. After they left his mouth, he realized how awful that probably sounded. It was the only form of defense he could think of under such short notice. He refused to believe he was in the wrong, especially in front of Chloe. Before the blonde could form a response, Geoff exited the changing room.

"That color doesn't suit you."

"You're getting it."

The two spoke in sync again. This time, they didn't look at one another.

"Everything is great but I'm not sure about the shirt." Chloe took the new outfit as an opportunity to openly check out Geoff. Geoff had opted to wear one of the riskier pieces that Awsten had slid into the bag. It was a read and black checked shirt that broke his own rule. Tokyo was written across the chest in big white letters. He paired the shirt with another item Awsten had picked out; a medium wash denim jacket. He had thrown on a similar pair of black jeans, only this time, they fit properly.

"The shirt is great. You look fantastic." Geoff face might've fallen after Chloe's comment but rose just as quickly at Awsten's. If Awsten had to compare him to an animal in that moment, he would've said he looked like a puppy. A little lost and confused but with a default emotion of happy. Geoff handed the previous pair of ill-fitting pants off to the sales associate.

"You really think so?" Geoff was beaming, only this time instead of the target being Chloe, it was Awsten. Geoff had a nice smile. It was practically contagious. Awsten couldn't help but return the expression. The red contrasted with his ocean wave eyes, naturally making them pop. The jacket was more fitting than Geoff would've liked, but it was still flattering.

"I do." Awsten realized that the next time he said that, it would probably be to his soulmate. He forced the thought out of his mind. "I think you should get it. If you want, I mean." Geoff looked past the two and into the mirror again, only this time doing a slow turn. For the first time in a long time, he liked what he saw.

"Red isn't your color." Chloe tried to insist but Geoff shook his head in response, heading back into the changing room. It was clear to both of them that Awsten had won that argument. He was thankful for that. He thought it would shut Chloe up. It didn't. "You realize he's like a person with feelings, right?"

"You don't know him." He was right. Chloe didn't know him. They had barely just met and yet she had this gravitation towards the other boy. She couldn't explain it. She toyed with the constant of love at first sight but rejected it quickly. She wasn't one to believe in that sort of stuff. Destiny or fate? That was another story entirely.

"Neither do you apparently." Chloe didn't know to the intensity her words rang true. Awsten had just met Geoff. They didn't know each other well, if at all. He had learned more about Geoff today than any other day. Sure, Geoff had spent one of their first days together at the flower shop but they hadn't spoken much. It was more of Geoff reaching things that were hard to reach, like some of the hanging plants. Awsten appreciated having him there. It saved him the hassle of having to use the step ladder. Awsten didn't know what to say. He knew she was right.

"I like it! It makes your arms look good." This was the first time Awsten hadn't said anything. The lack of commentary struck Geoff as odd but he didn't press on the subject. Instead, he looked at his reflection. The black and white striped tank top did accent his excellent arms but it was at a price. It made him appear wider. Geoff wasn't always on the slimmer side. During his teen years, he had a dependency on food. Whenever he was feeling low, it was always there to comfort them.

"What do you think, Awsten?" He'd never really talked about it to anyone. He gained weight very quickly; seventy five pounds in the span of a year. Geoff's mother died shortly afterwards. Geoff was feeling awful but this time, it was different. Instead of feeling everything intensely, he felt nothing at all. He was numb. In retrospect, he had realized that he was struggling with depression. He never left the house anymore. He sleeping became irregular and his eating became almost non-existent. This was a pain that food couldn't fix. Geoff lost a hundred and five pounds in just under nine months.

"I don't like stripes." When he left the house the first time after everything, he saw a stripped shirt in a window shop. Black and white thick stripes. The shirt made him think of his mother. She was a heavier woman that didn't care very much to follow the rules of fashion. More often than not, she would wear a stripped pattern. She wore all stripes of all colors but her favorite shirt was always one that featured black and white. Geoff bought the shirt instantly. He had wanted to be buried with it but life seemed to have other plans.

"I'm getting it." He wasn't sure what would've happened with all of his old stuff. His chest pained thinking that his extensive video game collection might not be around anymore or that his gaming computer might be outdated. He hadn't reached out to any of his family yet. Geoff was more worried about the state of his original striped shirt. As nice as the one that was on him right now, it wasn't the one he wanted. It was something he was settling with, something Geoff did far too often. He returned to the change room unaware of the fact that neither of them commented on his jeans, despite the rips in the knees. He figured he was going to get them anyways.

"It's kind of funny that you're named Awsten and you like, live in Texas." Chloe was still sort of new to Houston. She was born in California but grew up in suburban Ohio. It was only after she had finished studying film that she moved to Texas. She bounced around at first, checking out a couple of cities. San Antonio. Dallas. Austin. Chloe settled in Houston somehow when she obtained a fox. It had to be put down the previous year but she kept the animal close to her at all times with a memorial tattoo on one of her thighs.

"Wow, that's original." It was a comment Awsten had heard all too frequently as a child and in his teen years. It was actually part of the reason he had changed the spelling of his name. He couldn't stand the comparison any longer although he remembered a time when he adored it. As a child, he was elated when people would mention it. He would tell anyone that would listen that his name was Austin because one day, he would be so much bigger than Texas. For a while, he thought he would be. He didn't think about it much anymore. "Never heard that one before."

"Hey, be glad you didn't get named Dallas or something." Chloe thought back to her college roommate, an obnoxious girl from Chicago named Dallas. Although she was kind of cute, the girl had the personality of a dried lemon. "Everyone named Dallas kind of sucks." Awsten thought back to a friend he had in high school briefly; a boy named Dallas. The two of them would spend time in his room playing their guitars together. The relationship was cut short when Awsten started imagining what it would be like to kiss him. The following year, Dallas' band got signed and they left for a tour. Awsten never saw or heard from him again.

"Don't you have like work to do? People to help?" Awsten was tired of her prescence and had been for far too long. Being around other people drained Awsten's energy very quickly but Chloe seemed to be more draining than most people. Between work and seeing his friends, Awsten was always low on emotional energy. He used to love to come home and just recharge.

"I am working." Awsten would reach for his guitar and strum together another song no one would ever hear. It was a great situation until Geoff came into his life. He was unable to recharge fully with another person with him every moment he was home. Awsten was kind of hoping that Geoff's work schedule would be a bit different than his. He was really missing his guitar, even if it had only been a few days.

"I really like that." Awsten noticed Geoff before Chloe this time. She was in the process of peering towards the front where she was supposed to be standing. Geoff felt like he was in one of those movie scenes where the unpopular girl gets a makeover and becomes popular. He wasn't sure he liked the attention all too much. "It flatters you as much as cooler ones." The pale pink button up featured a series of multicolored flowers. It fit Geoff perfectly, so in Geoff's mind it was way too small. He would've looked the shirt a lot better if it was a size or two larger. He didn't think of himself as insecure but he definitely had areas of his body that he didn't enjoy. His stomach was one of those places.

"I think it's too small." Geoff noticed that the shirt stopped an inch or after his torso did. He wanted to raise his hands in the air to see if the shirt would rise up or not. He didn't want the confused questioning eyes from the two people silently judging him so he stayed with his hands at his sides. "Is it supposed to be this small?"

"Is it tight? I can grab it in the next size up if you want." Chloe still had pair of pants on her legs. Awsten wondered if she was always this incompetent or if he was just that lucky. When Geoff had originally handed her the pair of pants, Awsten felt a sense of relief. He would finally be able to spend a few moments alone. Unfortunately, Chloe had chosen to stick around.

"It's fitted." Awsten was trying his best to be patient with the other boy but he was pretty sure when Geoff died that he must've hit the ground pretty hard. The other boy knew absolutely nothing about some of the most basic things. He didn't know how to turn a kettle on or navigate around the city. The clothing thing could have been dismissed if it was an isolated incident although it clearly wasn't. "It's supposed to fit like that. It's like the masculine version of a form fitting dress." Geoff didn't think he had the body for a form fitting piece but he didn't vocalize the thoughts. Geoff didn't respond to the explanation but instead went back to where he came from to get the god awful piece of clothing off his body.

"You should really grab those pants in the right size." Awsten was the one to break the silence this time. He was expecting her to get up and leave. What he wasn't expecting was for her to radio in the brand, color and size for another employee to pick up for her. Awsten shot the girl a more than questionable look. She must've been working here pretty long to get away with stuff like that.

"I can't leave my section." Awsten wouldn't have known something like that. He had never worked a retail job before. "I have to stay here and help customers. Someone will bring it to us." Chloe sensed that she wasn't wanted in that moment but didn't move. She refused to give Awsten the satisfaction. She had tried to walk into her encounter with the two of them remaining as neutral as possible but there was something about Awsten that got under her skin.

"You're doing a great job at helping." He wasn't serious in the slightest and it was detectable in his tone. She had gone against him on almost every article of clothing Geoff had come out in, without any regard as to who had chosen it. It infuriated Awsten. "Really. I mean it. Honestly, I don't know what we would do without you."

"You just don't like that you aren't the one in control here." Chloe's voice spoke with a certainty that Awsten couldn't be bothered to even attempt to combat. Chloe was as observant as Awsten was obsessed with control. "You can't stand that he's in control and that there's someone else here to prompt him to think for himself." Chloe was starting to feel the chill of the air conditioning in her bones. She was starting to regret not wearing the white sweater she considered from this morning. Geoff emerged before Awsten could think of a decent reply to the allegation.

"Another blue one?" Awsten practically had to suppress a groan. Standing before him was Geoff in yet another cool toned shirt. This one was a bit different than the others. It was a blue button up that featured tiny tan palm trees and for once, it appeared that Geoff had grabbed something that had fit him. It was a bit big in Awsten's opinion and he made a mental note that if they grabbed the shirt, he would bring it to his tailor and get it correctly fitted. Awsten didn't think Geoff had been to a tailor in his entire life.

"What's wrong with blue? It's a good color." Neither of the two had commented about the slightly stylized sweats Geoff had on. The pants were blue with a splat of orange on the sides; more out of Geoff's comfort zone than any of the previous pairs of pants he had worn. He was surprised to say the least. "I'm starting to think that you hate the color blue."

"It looks good. I like it way better than the floral one." Chloe was being entirely honest. It wasn't just the fact that she didn't see the appeal of the salmon tone on the tall boy. A core reason she thought this look had suited him much more was because of the confidence he had in this one. It was obvious that he felt more comfortable and it showed.

"Nah." He brushed off Chloe's incorrect statement almost as soon as it came out of her mouth. In Awsten's mind, Chloe was full of incorrect opinions. The floral shirt had done way more than the bland button down he was wearing. "My hair was blue almost a year ago." Chloe made a mental note of the comment. In confirmed what she had already speculated; the friendship was new.

"Why'd you go purple?" Geoff hadn't ever experimented with dyeing his hair. It never interested him much. He didn't place an immense amount of importance on the exterior of an individual. Geoff would've much rather to get to know someone than get a good look at them, a philosophy that still rung true to him. If they happened to be nice on the eyes, it was a bonus.

"I change the color of my hair when bad things happen to me." Geoff hadn't mean to bring up Ciara but did so anyways. Ciara was like a ghost that lived in Awsten's mind. She haunted almost every memory he had. There was a point in his life where she haunted every thought he had and he was thankful that had ended. It had lasted the entirety of their relationship and the three months that followed.

"I've always wanted to dye my hair." Chloe had been watching the conversation play out and not only was it heading towards something depressing but she was feeling a little left out. Besides, it wasn't a lie. She had often thought about ditching her brown to blonde fade in favor of something a little darker. Her mind flickered between a soft chestnut brown and a bold raven color. She just hadn't settled on which color she had wanted.

"You should do it." Geoff flashed Chloe a small smile before turning his attention back to his roommate. "Well it should be staying purple for a long time then." Geoff's smile towards Awsten was different. It was bigger, full of a wave of optimism that rained down on the other boy. It radiated hope, something Awsten hadn't felt in a long time. "But seriously, fuck you and your anti-blue agenda. I'm getting it." Geoff really was the kind of guy to ruin his own moment. Then again, he wasn't even sure he was in the process of having one.

"Fuck you!" Chloe snickered at the exchange between the two as she heard the lock of the change room door be pulled shut. Awsten and Chloe were silent for a little over two minutes. Only the sound of a Charli XCX sound filled the somewhat awkward lull in conversation. Awsten recognized it from a movie he saw in theaters many years ago where both of the main characters had cancer. "I don't understand why you even care anyways." He didn't need to give context. She knew exactly what he was referring to.

"Someone has to." There was a sense of authority to Chloe's voice despite not knowing the entirety of the situation. It held an air of importance, even if Awsten didn't want to acknowledge her on the subject. Maybe had their introduction gone a bit differently, the pair could've been good friends. "And it's clear that you don't." Awsten didn't care about a lot of things. The list of things he did could've easily fit on his fingers. He wasn't entirely sure if Geoff was on that list yet or if he ever would be.

"Because you totally care about some stranger you just met, right?" Chloe was unaware of Awsten's projecting regardless of the edge in his voice. It seemed like she knew every button to push to get on Awsten's nerves. Awsten speculated that she had to have been a younger sibling. It was practically a personality trait of younger siblings to be able to irritate anyone and everyone. Chloe fell silent, silently willing the door in front of her to open. It did.

"The stripes are making an appearance again." Chloe's gingerbread colored eyes skimmed over the outfit and realized that they were probably coming to the end of Geoff's items. It was the only possible reason he could've been wearing a pair of light wash demin with a purple and black long sleeve. "It suits you." Geoff had opted to grab a long sleeve shirt for the fast approaching fall. Earlier, the two boys had grabbed Geoff a grey winter jacket and a pair of dark brown chelsea boots. Awsten wanted to get all the fall shopping out of the way while they were here.

"Is that a bad thing?" The stripes on the long sleeve were thicker than they were on the previous shirt, something he hadn't really noticed until he was putting it on his body. There was something about the shirt that seemed to draw his eyes to his stomach more. He didn't like it. "Because if it's bad, I won't get it." Geoff was probably overthinking Chloe's comment but he couldn't help it. It brought him back to high school for some reason. He thought it might've had to do with the fact she was pretty but then he thought back to the other two attractive women he had met earlier in the week and dismissed it.

"Not at all." Chloe flashed a smile that she often referred to as her customer service smile. It was forced but somehow still looked very natural. It wasn't that the long sleeve shirt didn't look nice on him to her, it was more the irritating boy sitting beside her. Awsten was getting on her nerves more than she liked to admit. He reminded her of a small child and suddenly, she remembered why she was never having kids. "It looks good on you."

"Awsten?" The other boy raised his gaze from his hands, locking eyes with Geoff. Geoff rarely called him by his name on a typical day and he had done it more than usual today. He wasn't at all irritated by the action. If Awsten was being honest, he sort of liked the way the name passed through Geoff's lips. Awsten shrugged his shoulders.

"You already know how I feel about stripes." Awsten hated stripes because they were a key piece of Ciara's wardrobe. He loved the print while the two of them were together. During the relationship, he even purchased a blue and yellow striped sweater. And yeah, maybe it was a stupid reason to hate stripes, but it was how he felt. He often opted out loud for a tad bit stupider reason, stating that stripes reminded him of the monstrosity-turned-meme that is Bee Movie.

"Why do you hate nice things?" Geoff teased the boy much more than Awsten would've liked. He wasn't one who responded to any form of critism very well. Awsten defense mechanism tended to consisted exclusively of denial and outright anger when it came towards hearing anything negative about himself. "First, it was the pizza your boss bought us on Wednesday. Then it was the color blue. Now it's stripes." During Geoff's time at the flower shop, he was somehow able to charm Awsten's stern boss into buying everyone pizza for lunch. Awsten happened to be very picky about what he put in his body. Pizza usually didn't make the cut.

"You're definitely a serial killer." Chloe speculated that Awsten was one of those guys who took pride in taking care of their bodies; exercising regularly and watching their diet. She didn't know it at the time but she was correct. He was practically obsessive with his health, taking more vitamins than any one human should. Awsten had even recently started taking fish oil pills and biotin. "Everybody loves pizza."

"I don't hate blue." It used to be a common that Awsten wore rather frequently when his hair was a natural color. It was a mixture of brown with little blonde tufts of hair on the sides. He absolutely hated it. The day he dyed his hair pink, he abandoned his natural hair color forever. "And neither of those other things are actually nice. Especially pizza without pineapple." Awsten's perfect pizza consisted of a thin crust pizza with a light red sauce, light on the cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, green peppers, pineapple and artichoke hearts. It was something Ciara had gotten him into. When she left, he didn't have the heart to throw the pizza out along with her things. Somehow, that didn't stop her from throwing out his shoes.

"Do you hate zebras too? They have stripes." Chloe was a bit of an animal enthusiast, to put it lightly. She had become vegan in her early teens and since then had gotten heavily involved in the world of animal activism. Chloe often frequented animal rights protests in her spare time, with the most recent being one involving makeup testing on animals. A few months ago she had started volunteering for Peta2 and instantly felt at home around the like-minded people.

"Pineapple on pizza is disgusting." Geoff was a firm believer that the tropical fruit belonged in one place; the trash. It belonged nowhere near him. Geoff hadn't really developed a love of fruit like Awsten had. When the two of them had went grocery shopping earlier, Awsten loaded the cart almost entirely with a variety of fruits and vegetables. He figured he was going to have to start liking them considering they now made up 90% of the fridge.

"They're not near the top of my favorite animal list." Awsten confessed with ease. He already had his favorite animal picked. Sea otters had been his favorite since he was little and hadn't changed over the years. Awsten thought it was positively precious how the animals held hands while they slept to avoid drifting apart from their mates. He was a bit of a hopeless romantic despite the fact he wouldn't admit it out loud.

"You're so shallow." If Geoff was teasing him, it seemed fair to Chloe to jump in on the joke. Geoff didn't know that he was pushing his buttons just yet. The pair hadn't spent enough time together to figure out each others quirks. Chloe on the otherhand seemed to come programmed with a set of instructions on how to get under the purple haired boy's skin.

"Why not?" Zebras reminded Geoff of the time him and his family went to the zoo when he was a little. He pet a zebra that day and puked during an elephant ride. It was an interesting day to say the least. "They're kinda cute." The memory made him miss his mom more than usual. She was always on his mind in one way or another but usually took her place in the back of his thoughts. Today she was more present than most days.

"I never said they were ugly! I just said I didn't like them." Awsten covered his face with his hands, trying and inevitably failing to block out the two people he was unfortunately trapped between. He wasn't sure how he had gone from Geoff's horrible fashion choices to his pizza and position on zebras being criticized but he didn't like it. "Jesus Christ. No. No zebras. No pizza without pineapple. No to that shirt."

"Somebody's cranky." Geoff was teasing him again and given Awsten's current state, he wasn't really that happy about it. Awsten might've come off like a child but Geoff was like an older brother. Sometimes the brown haired boy would be kind and thoughtful and then in the next breath be picking on the other boy. Of course it was all in good fun but that didn't make Awsten feel any better about the situation.

"Somebody's hungry and another somebody is taking all day to shop." Awsten's stomach had started grumbling when they had gotten here and although he had been trying to avoid the loud sounds coming from his stomach, he was doing an awful job. He wasn't used to feeling hunger pangs. Even when Awsten was running low on funds, he always found the money for food. Time on the other hand was a little different. He was usually running from place to place but then Geoff happened. Awsten was still getting used to having the other boy in his life and hadn't gone to some of the usual places that he frequented.

"He's actually being a lot faster than most of the people who shop here." Chloe was usually put in charge of taking care of any customers that were in the change rooms. Majority of the time it consisted of flocks of high school girls with stacks of clothes higher than the heels they wore. It wasn't uncommon for the line for the change room to rival the one at the cash.

"When your target demographic is teen girls, that isn't an impressive feat." As much as Awsten hated Forever 21, it was a decent place for a couple of basics. Black jeans, for example, which appeared to be something Geoff wanted to live in for the rest of his limited life. Regardless of that fact, he tried not to enter such a populated store. The amount of people made him uneasy.

"I only have one more outfit and then we're outta here, promise." Geoff had been saving the shirt for last because it wasn't exactly something he was liked all too much. It was the tie dye tank top that Awsten had picked out earlier. Although the shirt was interesting, it wasn't exactly Geoff's style. He debated not even bothering with it but was pretty sure Awsten would've given him a hard time about it.

"Don't promise me we're leaving." Geoff thought Awsten was whiner than usual today, chalking up the out of character behavior to hunger and secret shopping hatred. "Promise something nice like food." Awsten had been fantasizing about dinner an embarrassing amount since they had started shopping. He had his heart set on Pepper Tree, a local vegetarian all-you-can-eat restaurant. Everything was organic, health conscious and delicious.

"Fine. I promise I'll buy you dinner." Geoff had still had the money had earned from his semi heroic act from earlier in the week. He was positive he could manage buying dinner for the two of them, especially when he thought of all the money Awsten had been spending on him. Geoff tried not to think about the money every time the two of them went up to the till. The formerly dead boy professed every time that he would pay the other back in fill.

"That's better. Now hurry." Geoff followed Awsten's direction and returned to the change room, refusing to be on the receiving end of his anger. Awsten's happiness remained for a few moments before being rudely interrupted by Chloe's chuckling. He tried to ignore it at first but after a few seconds, he couldn't stand the repulsive sound anymore. "What's so funny?"

"It's just hilarious how everything has to always be about you. Hell, he's going shopping and it isn't even about him. It's still somehow about you." Chloe had worked in the service industry enough to be able to spot different types of customers. Awsten reminded her of an overly controlling parent. People like that would come in frequently and try to treat their children like mannequins. It infuriated her. "It's incredible, really. I've never seen anything like it."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Awsten had never viewed himself as self centered, let alone narcissistic. Sure, he had his moments of being selfish here and there but who didn't? He viewed his behavior as typical. It was quite possible that Awsten was unaware of how he came off to others although Chloe rejected that idea. He was self aware and just didn't care.

"'Geoff! I'm hungry!' 'Geoff! No stripes! I don't like the way they make you look and you're standing next to me so you're a reflection of me!'" Chloe's impersonations of the other were almost spot on but Awsten practically rolled his eyes at the over dramatization of it. That was not how he sounded. "It's kind of sad you know. He has the potential to be so much more than just your sidekick." _It's almost like he's player two and not player one._ Awsten didn't say it out loud but god, did he want to. Geoff's presence silenced the arguing.

"It does nothing for you."

"I love it."

Their opinions contrasted almost as much as their personalities. The only thing the pair seemed to share was an interest in the wellbeing of the boy standing in front of them. Geoff was wearing a black and white tie dye tank top and although he was getting positive affirmation from one of the two people who were there, he didn't like it at all. It didn't suit his frame and made him feel body concious.

"I don't like it." It wasn't up for debate. The words exited Geoff's mouth as he returned to the cubical, ridding himself of the unflattering shirt. Awsten sat in silence next to Chloe. He didn't want to give her the satisfaction of a reply. That's what he had told himself anyway. He was starting to think that Chloe was just one of those people who argued just to hear the sound of their own voice. When Geoff emerged, Chloe suggested she take the two of them to the cash. Geoff quickly accepted the offer.

As Chloe took the pair to the checkout, Geoff heard another song. It was different than the one he had heard twenty minutes earlier. He craned his head around the store, trying to find someone moving slower than everyone else. He found nothing. As they walked, he noticed the soundtrack sounded more sad then anything else. He nudged Awsten, attempting to get the other boy's attention.

"Do you hear that?"

"Ariana?" Awsten was stating the obvious. The high pitched pop star's song was being blasted in the store. Geoff wasn't sure of the name but if he had to guess, he thought it might be called Into You. "Please tell me you know who that is." Geoff was shocked. First Awsten didn't hear the song playing in the change room and now he wasn't even aware of the one currently playing. Were Awsten's ears broken? Had they not made a large enough donation? Geoff didn't know what was going on anymore and it definitely didn't help that Chloe was within earshot.

"Um, yeah." Geoff couldn't explain the situation now, just like he couldn't back in the dressing room. Even if Chloe wasn't a foot in front of them, there was a ton of people around. The mall was packed. It was a Saturday in August. Every teenager within ten miles was crammed into the mall. Geoff wasn't sure if it was for back to school shopping or not. He graduated a long time ago and never bothered to remember when classes started back up for kids. "She's great." Awsten brows furrowed together.

"Since when do you like Ariana Grande?" Awsten had come home to Geoff on more than one occasion listening to bands like Linkin Park and Sum-41. He had yet to come home to his newfound roommate blasting bubblegum pop. That was more of Awsten's style. There had been a morning or two where Geoff had woken up to Awsten's phone alarm blasting Ke$ha. Geoff was thankful that they had reached the cash and didn't have to maintain his poorly constructed lie.

Chloe rang the two boys up personally, allowing them to cut the decent sized line that had formed. Awsten wasn't usually one for cutting in line but he had decided that he had hit his yearly Forever 21 quota and needed to get out as soon as possible. Chloe was surprisingly fast at ringing through all the clothes. When Awsten saw the bill, his bank account hurt.

It was two hundred and thirteen dollars which by itself, would've been fine. It was just they had gone to a few stores prior and already spent three hundred and thirty. He pulled out his credit card and paid with no complaints. Geoff would have to pay him back.When the receipt came out, Chloe spent far too much time circling and highlighting the bottom of the receipt.

"If you need anymore help, you know where to find me." Chloe slide the receipt into one of the large, grotesquely yellow bags. Awsten grabbed both bags despite the sting in his arms. He wasn't entirely sure that he would be able to lift his weights properly when he got home. Then again, he hadn't missed a day in months.

"Thanks again." Geoff's smile caused a ripple effect. Chloe followed. "For everything." Geoff looked towards the other boy. Awsten returned the smile. "That applies to you too." Geoff hadn't really had the opportunity to sit Awsten down and thank him for everything he had done for him. He wasn't sure how.

"You're welcome."

"No worries."

Both of them were looking at Geoff before they turned their attention to each other. Awsten's arms were full of bags but that didn't stop his hand from grabbing Geoff's arm and leading him out of the store. Geoff called a goodbye over his shoulder through a fit of laughter. He didn't hear if Chloe replied. He didn't care. That's what he had told himself.

On the way home was when it hit Geoff. He tuned out the dull whine of Awsten's voice and instead reached into the large yellow bag, fishing out the receipt. Despite Awsten's certainty of there being a phone number, he was still surprised. In neat cursive writing, a string of ten numbers and her name were written at the bottom of the receipt. Chloe. He thought back to the moment he heard a burst of music, interrupting his thoughts in the change room. He remembered how he came out to the two of them and noticed no one of importance, at least to Awsten.

She didn't have a heart on her chest because she wasn't meant for Awsten. She was meant for Geoff. If Chloe was for me then that means- His mind wandered to the second song playing, another one that Awsten was unable to hear. Both songs had sounded less upbeat than the ones he had heard previously. The one after they had left the change room had a different tone to it. For some reason, it made Geoff more sad than it should have. Awsten had encountered his first rival and was incredibly unaware. Almost as unaware as his defeat.


	4. Names Are For Friends So I Don't Need One

"Did she say anything about me?" Awsten had spent the last two hours anxiously waiting for Geoff to come home from his first day of work. Geoff might not have gotten a job at Common Grounds to get close to Michaela but Awsten saw it as the perfect opportunity to help him get a date with the other barista. Geoff's mind might've held the answers to a lot of questions but it didn't have the answer to the most important one. He was dying to know what Michaela thought of him.

"Interesting way to say 'Welcome home.'" Geoff's hands were full of two golden brown bags full of pastries, one of the perks of working the closing shift. Michaela was in charge of his training and she insisted that he take home the bulk of the stuff. She had mentioned she wasn't one for sweets but Geoff was given a flashback of a memory from her childhood indicating otherwise. It was the same one as before, raising a handful of questions. He left the situation alone.

"Welcome to my house." Awsten spotted the bags in his hands and pulled them out of his grasp, emptying them onto the clean counter. One of Awsten's nervous habits was cleaning. Geoff hadn't noticed that the living room was missing all of Awsten's clothing. "Did she say anything about me?" The sweets consisted of a lot of things he wasn't interested in. There was three cinnamon buns, a couple of vanilla scones, some everything bagels, a few different types of muffins and doughnuts. Two slices of lemon poppy-seed cake caught his attention along with an oatmeal cookie.

"Technically it's our apartment." Geoff shrugged off the denim jacket they picked up over the weekend and slung it over one of the chairs near the breakfast bar. He hadn't really made a plan for dinner and noticed that Awsten hadn't made anything either. Whatever. He had no problem eating dessert for dinner. "The muffins are mine. You can have whatever else you want." Geoff was kind of hoping that everything from his work was as good as the muffins. Michaela told him to microwave the cinnamon bun for twenty seconds for an out of body experience.

"Your name isn't on the lease and you aren't paying rent so technically it's mine." Awsten argued, grabbing two black plates for them. Geoff made a mental note to shoot Awsten half of his next paycheck to shut him up. The other half was going to hopefully get him a phone. "Now did she say anything about me or not?" Awsten wasn't expecting Geoff to come home with food but it was a pleasant surprise. He was planning on ordering takeout, which was something he didn't enjoy doing. He was too tired to worry about cooking.

"Who?" Geoff was more focused on the cinnamon bun going into the microwave than anything else. He kept eyeing them his entire shift, hoping that there would be a couple by the end of the night. Geoff figured it would probably take them a couple days to eat through all the food he came home with so he was glad his next night shift wasn't until Friday. He wasn't supposed to be working with Michaela that night but another barista named Dom.

"Michaela!" Awsten slid the two slides of yellow cake onto his plate and slid the cookie back in the bag it came from, hoping to have it for breakfast tomorrow. "D'you want anymore?" He didn't wait for a reply before packing the remaining sweets back into the paper bags. If Geoff wanted something else, he could sort through the stuff again. The sound of the microwave woke up the other boy from his trance.

"Oh." Geoff popped open the microwave and attempted to pick up the plate, successfully burning his finger. "Fuck." He grabbed the end of his stripped shirt and used it as a makeshift oven-mitt, this time able to fish the plate out of the microwave and onto the counter. "Yeah. I think she did."

"What?" Only somewhat learning from his mistake moments ago, Geoff tore off a piece of the iced cinnamon bun and popped it into his mouth. It was undoubtedly hot but the cinnamon and sugar melting on his tongue was worth every second. Before the piece in his mouth made it's way to the back of his throat, he was already reaching for another piece of the trance inducing treat.

"What?" Geoff had been distracted by food, yet again. Awsten sensed a pattern in his roommate; all important questions shouldn't be asked in the presence of food. He made a mental note of the weakness.

"Oh my god. I hate you." Awsten was in the process of scraping the minuscule layer of frosting off of the lemon poppy-seed slices. He never had much of a sweet tooth and once he had started his health kick, the little bit of sugar he liked practically vanished. "What did she say?" He had spent the entirety of his work day imagining different scenarios between Geoff and Michaela talking about him. Most of them turned out positively but there was an underlying fear of the conversation somehow going wrong.

"Dinner would help jog my memory." In the time it had taken Awsten to take a bit on his first slice of cake, Geoff had somehow finished the cinnamon bun he was eating and was sorting through one of the two bags of baked goods. Awsten speculated that Geoff was somehow a black hole disguised as a tall guy with a nose ring or potentially even a bottomless pit.

"Is this not dinner?" Awsten was kind of content with having this for dinner. He hadn't had anything this close to junk food in months. Even though he was only a bite into the cake, his tongue was already happy with his choice for dinner. It wasn't the healthiest thing he could be having, that was his salmon fillet that was sitting in the freezer, but he was enjoying it nonetheless.

"No. Pizza." Geoff grinned, looking his roommate in the eyes for the first time since returning home. Geoff had spent the majority of his work day trying to figure out how to convince Awsten to buy him the pizza he had been craving for days. When Geoff was alive, he was practically a pizza addict. He was on a first name basis with every delivery driver from Pizza Hut. "Pizza Hut. Meat Lovers. Extra large. If you want extra details, I want cheesy bread." Awsten sighed, sliding one of his two slices of cake back into one of the brown paper bags.

"Just know that I hate you." Geoff couldn't believe that his plan had somehow worked out. He was pretty sure this was all some hallucination from his pizza withdrawals. It wasn't until Awsten pulled out his phone that he realized that his dream was becoming a reality. "Hi. I'd like to place an order for delivery." Awsten might've been giving him the nastiest look he had gotten since returning to the world of the living but Geoff thought it was a fair trade.

***********

"So do you have a boyfriend or anything?" Geoff wasn't all that curious on Michaela's dating life but the shop's lunch rush had ended about an hour ago and there wasn't much to do. They had cleaned virtually every surface in the shop and were left to meaningless small talk. The subject was only brought up because it was part of Geoff's end of the deal. Turns out cheesy bread came at a price higher than $4.95.

"Are you trying to ask me on a date?" Michaela raised one of her caramel colored eyebrows at the boy in confusion. Her makeup was something she prided herself on. Every day she would come into work with some kind of intense makeup look. Today, her eyes were painted a vibrant crimson. The contrast against the electric blue of her eyes was something she was trying to highlight.

"What? No! I swear I-"

"Am I not your type?" Michaela extended her lower lip coated in a shimmery pink gloss, displaying a pout that would've put a puppy's to shame. Her false lashes caused her blinking to seem more erratic than usual. It wasn't until her eyes started to gloss over with a coat of water that Geoff realized he had majorly messed up. "Wow, that's so mean. I can't believe you're so cruel."

"That's not it!" Geoff was praying to every god in the universe that the gorgeous girl in front of him wouldn't start crying. When people started crying, Geoff never knew what to do. He didn't know how to properly comfort the other person and standing there wasn't exactly an option. If that wasn't bad enough, seeing someone cry would cause him to start crying. "I me-" His trail of thought was cut short when he heard a giggle from the other barista.

"Fuck. I can never stay in character." The blonde blinked away the water from her eyes quickly, thankful for her waterproof mascara. Michaela was a decent actress although her teacher insisted on mastering the art of crying on command. Although the crying itself was easy for her, she couldn't get her mind to stay on the same page as her body. It was something she struggled with to say the least.

"You need to stop doing that." Geoff had fallen victim to Michaela's fake tears a total of four times throughout the day. No more than a single tear ever fell past her tanned cheek but that didn't make Geoff feel any better. He had come close to crying twice already. "Fuck your acting teacher and this assignment."

"I need to practice!" Acting wasn't actually Michaela's passion or anything, it just made her feel kind of powerful. She was suddenly more in control of not only her emotions but the situations in her life. Sure, it wasn't exactly the most honest way to go about things but it was a good way to get what she wanted. She imagined all the situations that crying on cue might come in handy and felt more inspired than ever. "I just want to get this right."

"Can't you practice with your boyfriend or something?" One of the perks of working at Common Grounds was that Geoff could make himself whatever he wanted to drink while he was on shift. He had settled on making himself an iced coffee a few minutes earlier. He wasn't very good at making a lot of the more complicated hot drinks. Geoff figured it would be a skill that would come with time.

"No boyfriend." Michaela sighed more to herself than Geoff. It wasn't like she didn't have guys interested in her or anything; she had plenty. Michaela was just more picky than the average person. It was something her roommate teased her about frequently. "Or a girlfriend. Or any friends really. It's sad, really."

"Fuck off, your friend was just here." Geoff recalled a blonde haired boy coming in and requesting Michaela specifically to make his drink. When she handed it over, the boy ruffled her hair. Michaela had let out an ungodly sound and looked as if she wanted to leap over the counter and beat the grin off of the laughing customer.

"Viking doesn't count." Viking was the closest thing Michaela had to a friend, if you could call it that. They were both well known on twitter and somehow attended the same college. When their followers brought it to their attention, they didn't really have a choice in the matter. They met up and were instantly branded as friends to the twitter universe. He was almost as annoying as he was attractive. "What about you?"

"Do I have a boyfriend? No." Geoff wasn't sure he wanted anything serious at the moment. His entire purpose for being alive again revolved around finding someone for Awsten, not himself. He needed to stay focus on his mission. If he failed, he would be buried six feet deep. There wouldn't be much sense in dating the dead.

"What about a girlfriend?" Michaela was a little surprised at Geoff's reply. She had speculated that him and Awsten were an item based on their previous interactions. Given, it was 2018, so it was possible that it might not have been official but it still seemed like an interesting situation. Geoff shook his head. "Do you like anybody right now?" Geoff's mind flashed with an image of Awsten from the night they had met. His cheeks turned rose remembering the night he was brought back to life by the other boy. Michaela had hit the jackpot."Oh my god. You totally do."

"I do not!" Geoff's eyes darted towards the remains of his drink. He refused to admit that he even had a crush. If he legitimately had a crush on the other boy, the heart on his chest wouldn't be the dull grey that it was. It would've been a bright pink, like the center of a ripe watermelon. Instead, it was the shade of lead from a dull pencil.

"Don't lie." Michaela scolded, looking disapprovingly at the older boy. She hadn't exactly placed how much older than her Geoff was just yet. He looked like he could've been about her age but he seemed much more mature than she was. She theorized that he might've been in his early twenties.

"Okay, I do a little." His mind wandered to his purple haired roommate and how Geoff's heart wanted to explode when he saw the other boy's smile. Geoff smiled just thinking about the beautiful expression but as quick as the thought came to his mind, it was replaced. The thought taking it's place was much less pleasant, a constant reminder that Awsten didn't know about the heart on his chest. "It doesn't matter though. They don't know I exist."

**********

“Your boyfriend's here to come get you.” Ciara's apron was a mess but that was the understatement of the century. The once white fabric looked more like a dull grey now, featuring pieces of flower stems here and here. Ciara wasn't usually the one to get messy, that was Awsten's job. Ciara usually stood at the register and let the boy do the majority of the dirty work. It mostly consisted of replenishing the flowers in the fridge and piecing together arrangements. Every so often, they would take turns doing deliveries.

“My boyfriend?” Awsten was focused on the arrangement he was trying to recreate. He looked back at the book and noticed he needed another palm leaf for the back on the right hand side. It was to compliment the tiger lilies in the tall vase. He didn't see the appeal in the piece but someone named Tony Perry must've. Confusion initially hit Awsten before he remembered his white lie; he was dating Geoff. “Oh, Geoff. Right. I forgot.”

“You forgot about your boyfriend?” Ciara shot the boy an interested look but he took no notice, placing the palm in it's correct spot. She was interested on how someone who had previously crucified her for forgetting about her partner could just forget about their significant other. Awsten was being a hypocrite if you asked Ciara. It stuck her as odd, even for her ex-boyfriend.

“You seem to do it all the time.” Awsten quipped, eyes darting between the book and his arrangement. It looked almost exactly like the photo this time. He lifted the vase and set it down on the wrapping set up the shop had. It involved wrapping the arrangement in a plastic to keep the flowers safe from the colder temperatures.

“Awsten, can we talk about this?” Ciara had rehearsed this conversation a thousand times over. She was going to ask to talk and he was going to accept. She was going to apologize for seeing Richard behind his back. He was going to forgive her. Things could finally stop being awkward at work. They wouldn't have to avoid each other anymore. “Please?”

“There's nothing to talk about.” When Awsten was done wrapping the arrangement, he looked up and skimmed the selection of ribbons they had. The flowers were white and yellow but had a soft green accent because of the palm leaves. He was looking for a color that would compliment all three of them. Awsten eventually settled on a pastel pink silk ribbon, cutting the end on an angle that rivaled the sharpness of his jawline. “You cheated on me.”

“And it's been months and you aren't over it.” Things weren't going according to her plan. He was supposed to agree to talk and more importantly, forgive her. If he could do that, she wouldn't need to act as cold towards the other boy anymore. She acted as if his words didn't hurt her but they effected her more than she would ever admit. Her sharp tongue were her only way of protecting herself from the hurtful things sent her way.

“I'm over it.” Awsten tied the sweet colored silk in a nearly flawless bow while sinking his teeth into his taffy colored lip. He grabbed the pair of scissors he was using only moments prior to slice open the plastic and began to run the edge across the ends of the bow he had formed. Slowly, the ends curled into tiny little ringlets that reminded him of how he had imagined Goldie Locks as a child.

“Then why are you biting your lip? You only do that when you're nervous.” Ciara might've acted like she didn't care about dating Awsten but that couldn't have been farther from the truth. She remembered more about that boy than anyone she had ever dated in the past. There was rarely a day that he didn't cross her mind. She couldn't look out her apartment window on garbage day without remembering how he would take really stupid selfies next to the trash cans.

“I'm not nervous.” Awsten was lying. The prospect of having to talk to his ex-girlfriend about why they had broken up and more importantly, why he wasn't over it practically terrified him. Awsten would've been more comfortable telling his parents he was gay than sitting with Ciara and discussing why their relationship didn't work out. He knew it was all his fault. It didn't matter if Ciara had cheated on him. If he had been enough, she wouldn't have had to. “I just don't want to have this conversation.” 

“I just want you to know I-” 

“I don't have time for this.” Ciara didn't get to finish her apology. It didn't matter how long she had thought about her actions or how long she had practiced this conversation. It wasn't going how it was suppose to at all. This wasn't how Awsten responded in her mind. “Geoff is waiting for me.” Everything was going wrong and she couldn't blame anyone but herself.

**********

“How do you ask a girl out?” Geoff paused the episode of Gravity Falls he was watching and turned his attention to his roommate. Awsten stood in the kitchen, making himself a salad he had read about online. It contained more super foods than he knew what to do with but the main selling point was that it had blueberries. Awsten had an affinity for all berries but blueberries were undoubtedly his favorite.

“You would know better than me.” Geoff wasn't entirely familiar with Awsten's dating history but he was sure that Ciara wasn't his only serious relationship. A conversation they had during their shopping trip a couple weeks ago indicated that Awsten had been in a handful of other relationships. “I've had like one girlfriend and it was in high school.” Geoff's relationship took place right before his mother had died. His girlfriend was unable to deal with Geoff's reaction to the event and broke up with him a few weeks into his depressive episode.

“Okay. Let me try this again. How would you want to be asked out?” Geoff hadn't really ever thought about something like that. He wasn't a person that was into grand gestures or anything of the sort. He was the type of person that would always opt for sandwiches instead of steak. Geoff was pretty easy to please. “Where would you want to go?”

“I don't know. Coffee?” Geoff thought coffee was a casual enough to get to know each other without the large commitment of time. If things went poorly over coffee, you could leave after about fifteen minutes. If things turned sour over dinner, you would be trapped until the check comes. “Coffee is always a safe bet.”

“No good. She works at a coffee shop.” Geoff had a feeling he was asking about Michaela. He couldn't really see Awsten going for his other option at the moment. Awsten dropped half a tub of blueberries into his mixture of greens and walked towards the couch. It contained Geoff sprawled out in all of his cartoon watching glory. “Want some?”

“Are you asking me how to ask out Micheala?” Geoff ignored Awsten's question but still somehow ended up with a couple of blueberries in his mouth. He bit down against the fruit and a burst of sweetness exploded on his tongue. He still wasn't exactly used to all this healthy eating stuff but Awsten never made anything too awful for dinner and that was enough for him.

“I might be. Open.” Geoff complied with Awsten's request, allowing him to drop more berries into his mouth. Awsten had been thinking about asking her on a date way before Geoff had come into the picture. Hearing the fact that she could potentially be the person Awsten would be spending the rest of his life with just solidified his decision. “I was thinking I'd bring over some flowers and ask her on a date.”

“Make them pink. She likes pink.” Geoff opened his mouth again, expecting a small handful of berries. Awsten tipped the container and he was instead greeted with a tiny avalanche of fruit. Geoff sat up quickly, trying to avoid the unlikely risk of choking. He would be damned if he would lose his second life because of healthy eating.

“I was thinking roses.” Awsten walked the empty container to the recycling bin near the wooden door. He had always been a big recycling person. He didn't self identify as an environmentalist, although that didn't stop him from using reusable containers at every opportunity. “Pink roses.”

“Roses are too much.” As Geoff finished chewing the remainder of the fruit in his mouth, he thought about Awsten and Michaela together. He didn't know either of them well enough to form an opinion. She seemed nice. He seemed like he had his moments. It made sense but there was still a pang of pain in his chest. He ignored the feeling and tried to focus on how to steal another one of Awsten's yogurts without him noticing.

“They're romantic.” Awsten corrected. Awsten was a hopeless romantic, hopelessly waiting to find is other half. He often thought of the life he would have with them. He wanted a large wedding, a townhouse in the suburbs and a couple of kids. “Everyone wants to get roses.” Awsten had a point there. Geoff made it his mission this time around to get roses before he died, something he wasn't able to accomplish last time.

“I just think it's sorta big out of nowhere.” His craving for yogurt didn't leave and with Awsten in the kitchen, he didn't have many options. He contemplated just asking for one but remember how he was met with a reminder on how he had eaten all of Awsten's strawberries. The other boy's attention seemed to be set on the oversize salad in front of him. Geoff was willing to risk it.

“It's not like I have forever to make her like me.” Awsten managed to get out between a bite of his greens. He wasn't always a fan of salads but it was something Ciara had gotten him into. Before meeting the blonde girl, Awsten didn't take care of his body. After he met her, it became a bit of an obsession. He joined her with all of her runs. He missed having someone to run with before the sun came up. “I have a year. Three hundred and sixty-five days.”

“I'm pretty sure we're closer to the three hundred and forty-five mark.” Geoff had constructed a plan. Awsten was leaning against the breakfast bar in the kitchen, facing towards the sofa. If he was swift, he could easily walk past him and open the fridge, claiming to get one of his cans of Coke and additionally pick up a vanilla yogurt. He hadn't exactly figured out how he was supposed to get a spoon. That fatal flaw was almost the end of the operation.

“Shut up.” Awsten shifted slightly, eyeing the boy opening the silverware drawer. Both of them were well aware that a can of soda didn't require anything else. “So roses?” Geoff jumped at the words regardless of the fact that they weren't what he was expecting. His heart was racing faster than the time he almost beat the world record of a speed run for Ocarina of Time. It was clear that Geoff wouldn't have lasted very long as a spy.

“Might as well.” Geoff ignored the pounding of his heart in his ears like he ignored the yellow tint forming on the heart on his chest. Geoff made his way out of the kitchen -unaware of Awsten's eyes on him- resuming his usual spot on the couch. It was more comfortable than it looked but not by much. He had wanted to spend his first paycheck on getting a nice little futon to sleep on but instead used the majority of it to payback Awsten. The remainder of the money he spent on food that had been consumed already. “What have you got to lose?”

“I've got to figure out what to say.” Awsten had a way with words on paper but when it came to actually speaking them, he struggled. It wasn't like he could write her a note asking if she liked him. Life was much harder than it was in third grade. It's not like he could write her a song either, a method that had worked flawlessly on his most recent ex-girlfriend. “Oh, and Geoff?” Geoff turned his head at the call of his name, silently thankful that he hadn't started eating just yet.

“Yeah?”

“Stop eating my fucking food.”

**********

“Is Awsten here?” The chimes above the entrance to the shop were still making noise as Geoff questioned the blonde at the counter. He wondered if anyone else ever worked at the shop besides Awsten and Ciara. He figured they must have some other coworkers besides their laid-back and slightly balding boss. He hadn't come by often enough to rule out the possibility of the other people working in the shop.

“Hi to you too Zelda.” Ciara looked up from her magazine momentarily to confirm her suspicions about who had entered the flower shop. She resumed reading her copy of Vogue, cursing herself internally. She hadn't meant for her words to come out as hostile as they probably sounded. Ciara was very used to having people ignore her. She wasn't used to having any attention, which was only something that started to happen when she moved to Houston. In Burbank, she was a glow stick at a rave but here, she was a find in a thrift store.

“Hi. Sorry.” Geoff was usually really polite but he had assumed Ciara wasn't one for talking based on their previous interaction. He was the type of kid that all parents fell in love with when he was in school. Geoff lifted the brown paper bag as if to explain his reason for disturbing her, disregarding the fact that she wasn't paying attention. “I'm just running him this. He forgot it.” 

“Sounds like Awsten.” She glanced up at the boy and took a look at the bag. It wasn't like Awsten to bring a lunch to work. It must've been a new thing his boyfriend had convinced him of. When the two of them were together, they would take turns making each other lunch and eating together when business would slow down. Awsten would make the most incredible stir fry and Ciara had perfected the art of sandwich making. After the couple broke up, they both stopped having lunch.

“Is he always this forgetful?” It was proving a bit harder than Geoff had thought to get to know Awsten. It was difficult when they had different work schedules and different eating routines. On top of everything, Awsten would frequently lock himself in his room and strum away on a guitar for hours on end. Sometimes, Awsten would head right to his room after coming home. Geoff would always take it upon himself to try and make dinner, which usually resulted in a burning smell and Awsten coming to rescue his roommate. It originally started as Geoff being hungry but quickly turned into a good way to get the other boy to be social.

“Only when he's got a lot on his mind.” Ciara turned the page, tired of the collection she was looking at. Calling it a collection was a bit of a stretch in her mind. You could only have so many ugly designs worn by mediocre looking people like Gigi Hadid so many times before it looked less like fashion and more like a fucking mistake. “Which is like always. His head's always going a mile a minute.”

“Probably the reason he never shuts up.” Geoff joked, trying to get a laugh from Ciara. He had learned from a young age that it was hard to hate someone who made them laugh. There was something about Ciara that made Geoff almost want her approval somehow. She gave off the impression that she didn't like most people and to be liked by someone like that would've made him feel special.

“As long as he's talking, he's doing okay.” Ciara was looking at him again and she looked softer somehow talking about Awsten. Her voice was sweeter almost, she seemed like a mother telling a cautionary tale. He could see why Awsten would've liked her like this. Geoff wondered why she wasn't always like this. “What you gotta watch out for is when he's quiet.” 

“Oh yeah?” Geoff hadn't noticed the purple haired boy being silent at all since he had moved in. He doubted the other boy even knew how to keep his lips shut. It often felt like Awsten was talking to heard the sound of his own voice. Perhaps it was for the best that he kept talking. “I don't think he knows how to be quiet.”

“When he's not okay, he won't say a word.” Awsten was the type of person to bleed out on the sidewalk and not make a sound. He was the kind of guy that would rather suffer in silence than ask another person for help and Ciara knew that. There was a lot Ciara knew about him that Geoff didn't. It was something that came with spending time with the other person; something Geoff hadn't done a whole lot of. “It's more common than you think. Comes in waves.”

“I thought I heard your voice.” Awsten's hair was pushed back, drenched in sweat. He had been moving some of the flowers from the fridge in the back into buckets to be put on display in the front fridges fifteen minutes earlier. It was something he struggled with when he had first started working here; he actually wasn't able to lift the bucket. It gave him another reason to keep his body in shape. “Hi.” Awsten had been in the process of forming an arrangement when he heard Geoff's voice in the front. The base of the arrangement was still in his hands.

“Hi.” Geoff's eyes fell to the bouquet of flowers in the boy's well defined arms; sunflowers. The bouquet resembled the one Awsten had brought to his grave all those days ago. It featured the same flowers as the one from the day they met but this arrangement also had a few dark red roses. It was a bouquet Geoff hoped to one day receive. “Looks nice.”

“You think?” Most people didn't like to pair roses with sunflowers at all, let alone crimson colored ones. Awsten always thought that the contrast of sizes and shapes were interesting and added to any arrangement. The colors were complimentary so he wasn't exactly sure why the majority of florists were so united on this respectively arbitrary rule.

“You're not supposed to compose original arrangements.” Ciara noticed that the piece Awsten was holding had recently become a staple he was constantly making. He had only started making it towards the end of summer and she couldn't see why. The sunflowers were so large and overbearing that it overpowered the classic roses. They arrangement took the beauty from both flowers and instead of sharing it, it suffocated any trace of it. 

“You aren't?” Geoff was confused. Isn't that what flower shops were for? People like Geoff weren't exactly the most qualified to be assembling their own arrangements after all. Given, he wasn't exactly one to frequent flower shops prior to meeting Awsten but his point remained the same. Geoff thought back to the only time during his first life that he had been to a flower shop; the day after his mother had died.

“You're supposed to follow the book but I like making my own.” Awsten originally took a job at the flower shop because he thought it would be an easy way to make money while still letting himself have some creativity in his work. He was wrong. He wasn't allowed to make his own arrangements or even suggest anything that wasn't a staple in the catalog. It was depressing, really. All he wanted to do was to show off his eye for aesthetics and he couldn't even do that.

“We can't sell your arrangements.” Ciara was correct but she could've said it with a bit less joy in her tone. She was fine with following the guide book. It made her life much easier than if she had to customize every bouquet and make every single arrangement off the top of her head. She didn't have a creative bone in her body. It was one of the major differences between her and her ex-boyfriend.

“Why not?” Geoff thought that the arrangement in the other boy's hands could have been straight out of a magazine, if they made magazines about flowers that is. He wasn't actually sure if they did or not. It had to have been possible, given the market for such a publication. The bright colors of the bouquet made him happy. “It looks great.”

“She means we aren't allowed to” Awsten explained, interrupted half way through with a loud growling noise coming from his stomach. He hadn't gotten the chance to have any breakfast because he had woken up late. He could lie and say that his alarm wasn't always the most reliable thing but it was probably more likely that he had just stayed up late thinking again. “I'm so hungry.”

“Good thing Nintendo boy over here loves you.” She wouldn't have been caught dead bothering her significant other at work but a part of her found it sort of endearing that he cared that much about Awsten. Ciara sort of wished her boyfriend loved her enough to visit her at the shop and bring by some lunch. Richard hadn't picked up on her unusual eating habits just yet though so knowing him, he would bring something that wouldn't have lived up to Ciara's unusually high standards.

“I brought you lunch.” Geoff held up the large bag filled with a lunch he had made for the other boy. Awsten wasn't one to make lunches and paired with his lack of breakfast, it probably wasn't the best for him. His eating habits were as poor as Geoff's but in different ways. Geoff wasn't entirely sure what the other boy would be willing to eat but he constructed what he thought would reach Awsten's unreasonably picky desires. He ended up throwing a salmon fillet from the night before on a bed of salad in a container and sliding the other piece of lemon poppy-seed loaf into a Ziploc bag. He also threw in two bottles of water as the other boy's constant nagging about staying hydrated rung in his head.

“You're amazing.” Awsten was internally gushing at the act. Nobody he had ever dated had actually gone out of their way to make and deliver a lunch to him; Ciara being the exception. Hell, his mom didn't even deliver lunch to him when he was in school. If Awsten forgot, he was just out of luck. “Wait, aren't you supposed to be working?” He was positive that Geoff was working today at least until three. The other boy wrote his schedule on the calendar more for Awsten than for himself.

“I'm on my lunch.” Geoff was spending his lunch running over Awsten's. Common Grounds wasn't all too far from Awsten's workplace given the fact that the walk between the two was only about ten minutes. It took Geoff a bit longer because he wasn't used to navigating through Cypress. It was a part of Houston that he never frequented when he was alive for the first time.

“I hate you.” Awsten's words didn't match his actions in the slightest. The words that came out of Awsten's mouth should've been thank-you but Geoff got the impression anyways because of the smile that was gracing his lips. It was a beautiful sight that Geoff was rarely on the receiving end for. If all it took was bringing the other boy a lunch, Geoff vowed to make it a habit. He hadn't pegged Awsten for easily impressed.

“I thought I was amazing.” Geoff replied confidently, returning an open mouthed smile. Awsten hadn't noticed the sharp canine's on his roommate. He thought that Geoff would definitely make a good vampire for Halloween. Halloween was fast approaching and Awsten still had no idea what he was going to be. He'd have to give Jawn a shout and steal his good ideas like he did every year.

“That was before you made me feel guilty!” Awsten might've been vocally complaining but his body was selling him out in almost every aspect. He had a smile on his face and couldn't stand still. His foot was tapping to a beat that no one else could hear and he could barely look Geoff in the eye. Ciara had never seen Awsten like this at any point, before, during or after their relationship. “What are you gonna eat? I'm eating up your entire lunch.”

“I just snack on the clock.” Geoff shrugged; he was telling the truth after all. They were allowed to help themselves to a baked good every two hours they worked. When he worked with Michaela, she encouraged him to take hers too. He was determined to eat his way through the menu. “We got these new pumpkin spice muffins. They're great. You'd like them.”

“When you close next, make sure you bring them home.” Ciara was confused by the comment. Awsten hadn't really eaten anything like that since he met her. She influenced the majority of his eating habits and still did. She didn't know Geoff was slowly easing him into what she referred to as processed garbage. It might've been garbage but Awsten was loving every moment of eating the trash. “He works at Common Grounds.”

“Common Grounds?” Ciara recalled going to the coffee shop with Awsten regularly when the pair were together. When the couple had broken up, it was like a divorce. Ciara got a lot of things from their relationship; the painting, the rings, the juicer. The list of things she got was almost endless. Awsten kept very few things, one of them being the cafe.

“You know it?” Geoff didn't think that the coffee shop was all that popular, especially since there was a Starbucks only a couple blocks away. He wondered how the shop kept a steady stream of customers for the majority of the day. It had a cozy sort of appeal to it that must've been attractive to some people.

“Know it? I showed him it.” Ciara remembered the day vividly. She had taken Awsten to Common Grounds on their first date. She ordered a chai latte and he had ordered an iced americano. They had at the window and people watched for an hour. She told him that watching other people made her feel anonymous and she hated it but it gave her an odd sense of comfort. “Who's working today? Maybe I'll stop by after my shift ends.”

“Michaela's closing.” Geoff knew that because the blonde had only come in an hour earlier and was complaining about closing the entire time. Michaela had been called in last minute to cover for a coworker of theirs called in sick. She seemed really down about cancelling a plan she had made with someone. Geoff offered to work a double but she immediately declined his generous offer, claiming she would've felt awful if he did that for her.

“Oh.” Ciara appeared bored but her mind was racing with thoughts of the other girl. She inhaled deeply, trying and failing to calm herself down. The name rung in her ears like a bad pop song she never wanted to hear again. Her arms flew to her back, untying her white apron. If she never saw Michaela again, it would be too soon. “When you're done your lunch, I need you to make a couple deliveries.”

“Can't you do it?” Awsten might have been whining but it wasn't fair. He had done all the deliveries last week and Ciara had promised to do all of them this week. It was especially important to Awsten considering the fact that one of the deliveries was to one of his ex-girlfriends. He hadn't seen her in years and had no desire to see her again, let alone give her a big bundle of flowers from whatever guy she was stringing along this time.

“Richard is taking me for lunch.” Ciara retorted sharply, throwing her apron under the counter. The blonde turned on her heel and headed towards the back of the shop. She couldn't stand in front of her ex and hear about a girl she couldn't stand any longer. Ciara wasn't the type of person to hate just anyone. Michaela had a reason that only the two of them knew of. This reason was kept hidden from Awsten.

 

“Did I say something wrong?” Geoff's eyes bounced between where the blonde had been and where she had gone in confusion. The only thing that snapped the boy out of his trance was the brown paper bag being tugged out of his hands by Awsten. Before Geoff knew what was happening, the other boy was walking out the front of the flower shop. He stood between the once in love couple like a discarded toy. The more he tried to understand the people around him, the more questions surfaced. It hit him that a year wasn't long enough to provide him with all the answers.

**********

“Do you like anybody?” Geoff was washing the remains of the dishes from the morning rush. It was mostly mugs with tea stains and a couple of spoons here or there for stirring. Geoff had been talking Awsten up to Michaela since he started three days ago. Geoff was trying to wingman his roommate to the best of his ability because Awsten only really had two options in terms of dating right now and there was a better chance of hell freezing over than him asking Ciara out.

“I like everybody.” Michaela replied coyly, handing Geoff another mug. When she had expressed a disinterest in washing dishes because of her freshly painted platinum nails, Geoff happily took over the task. She had agreed she would dry everything when he was all finished but lucky for her, he still had a ways to go.

“That's not what I mean and you know it.” Geoff didn't mind washing dishes all too much. He wasn't especially good at it but for some weird reason, it relaxed him. The constant flow of water allowed his mind to wander places outside of the coffee shop and far away from Texas. He wasn't helping Awsten entirely out of the kindness of his heart; Geoff had an ulterior motive that was known by the both of them. Geoff wanted to get his life back.

“I have no idea what you're talking about.” Michaela quipped, sliding another dirty dish into the sink. She wasn't how the conversation originally came up but she was regretting the subject. It was still a sore spot in the pathetic excuse that was her life. She thought back to a few days prior and remembered a conversation about Geoff's love life or rather, lack of one. She supposed he was trying to take an interest in her life. She wished he wouldn't.

“Do you ever take things seriously?” In the entire time he had known the other barista, she rarely wasn't kidding around. Geoff had a hard time figuring out when she was speaking facts or just fucking with him. Everyone else in the shop must have gotten used to reading the tone in her voice because he appeared to be the only one having issues. His underdeveloped social skills weren't exactly an asset in the situation either.

“Taking things seriously is how you get hurt.” Michaela thought back to her most recent relationship. She felt a stab in her chest when she remembered how her now ex boyfriend had described her. Clingy. High maintenance. Dramatic. Expensive. Emotional. Each word like carefully curated bullets aimed at her diminishing self esteem. “I have my eye on someone.”

“I need details.” If Geoff was being honest, he wasn't sure he really did. He could've done without hearing her gush over Awsten or potentially someone else. He tried to put those feelings aside and continue what he had started. He was asking her for the sake of information and getting his life back. No matter how cute Awsten was, he wasn't worth risking his life for.

“I've been waiting for them to make a move for a while now.” She had her eye on a boy that frequented her workplace, ordering the same thing every time. He had a thing for clothing that would look repulsive on most people but his defined arms made every piece she saw him in look incredible. His hair was long enough to play with but short enough to still look presentable. His smile never failed to brighten her day.

“Really?” Geoff felt his heart drop to his stomach, feeling the rapid beat in almost every part of his body. He was able to hear the quick thudding in the drums of his ears. He wanted to know who it was but didn't want to know at all at the same time. He wasn't sure which one he wanted more. Whatever she said was his fault either way, he asked after all. Michaela was just the messenger.

“Yeah and they just don't. It makes me feel like there's something wrong with me.” Michaela wasn't usually candid about her feelings but there was something about Geoff that made her feel at ease. He was kind of like the dorky older brother she always wanted. He always gave her the best advice and told her she looked pretty even when she felt repulsive.

“Who?” Geoff was torn on the issue. Part of him wanted her to say Awsten; it would make his life easier. It would make Awsten happy and it would help them in terms of the game. If it was so great for everyone, then why did a part of him want her to say someone else? Why did the thought of her saying that six letter word make his stomach churn?

“There's no way I'm telling you that.” Michaela liked Geoff but she didn't know him that well just yet. It wasn't that she didn't trust him as much as she didn't trust her own feelings. Somehow, it made Geoff feel better. “He's a regular.” The moment was short lived. 

*********

“You're lying.” Awsten couldn't believe his ears. In all his years of life, no pretty girl he had a crush on had ever liked him back. Ciara had been the only exception to his curse. “There's no way she said that she likes me.” Girls like Michaela didn't like guys like Awsten. Girls like her tended to go for more hotter guys in much better shape than Awsten. He had started working out originally out of insecurity. Awsten had been so paranoid that Ciara was going to leave him for someone better looking than him. Sometimes he was so sure he had spoken her cheating into existence.

“She said that she likes a regular.” Geoff's pizza had arrived just moments prior, coating the kitchen in a cheese infested scent. Geoff grabbed two large navy blue plates from the cabinet and began to tear apart the pie into separate slices. “And that he hasn't made a move. That sounds like you.” He put five slices on one of the plates. He knew he could probably eat more than that but rationalized his order by telling himself he could have some more lunch tomorrow.

“Did she say anything else?” Awsten was more interested in what the other barista had said about him than the salad he had been nibbling at. He had made his salad before Geoff had chosen to order takeout, which was probably for the best. The kale salad in his lap was probably better for him than the delicious smelling food in the kitchen.

“She mentioned that he looked especially good today.” Geoff slid a single slice onto the other plate, unsure if Awsten would even touch it. He wasn't sure what his preferred toppings were or if pizza was even something he was interested in eating. Geoff wasn't entirely sure how Awsten was able to eat such obnoxiously bland and painfully healthy food all the time. He walked the two plates towards the couch and braced himself for whatever reaction his roommate felt like surprising him with.

“Do I look especially good today?” You look good every day. Geoff shook the thought from his mind and looked the boy from head to toe. He was wearing a pastel multicolored puma sweater that matched the shade of his hair almost perfectly. It was obvious that Awsten was cold despite the fact Geoff had turned the heat on about an hour ago. He looked cute regardless of the fact he looked like he was more interested in Geoff's dinner than his own.

“You look like you're hungry.” Geoff set the smaller plate on top of the bowl of salad Awsten had been eating. The smell was impossible to avoid when it was in front of him. Meat Lovers; a former favorite of his. It was one of the things he gave up when he started Ciara. He gave up a lot of things for someone who never gave anything up in return. Sacrifice only works when it goes both ways. “Eat this.”

“I have salad.” Awsten tried to argue both out loud and internally. He wasn't just fighting Geoff on the issue; he was also fighting a part of himself. He had conditioned himself into healthy eating when he started seeing Ciara. He hadn't had anything like what was sitting in front of him in just over a year. Awsten wasn't sure why he maintained the habit after the breakup. He figured it was because his feelings hadn't left entirely, the habits remained as proof.

“And now you're having pizza with your salad.” Geoff's smile was able to convince him of a lot of things but he wasn't completely sold on the food put in front of him. Awsten had read somewhere that eating junk food after extended periods of clean eating usually made you feel worse. He wasn't sure how true the information was but it stuck in his head.

“Fuck off. You're going to make me fat.” Awsten wasn't fat a day in his life but it was a fear that loomed over him. Awsten had a handful of fears about his looks; his eyes, getting fat, balding, not having a muscular enough body, not being tall enough. All of his fears were rationalized. In elementary school, he had been picked on for having eyes of two different colors. His father was overweight and was losing hair faster than Awsten was losing his ambition. His girlfriend had left him for a boxer. His sister was the same height as him. His fears were rational and they stayed cemented in the back of his mind.

“I'm going to make you less hangry.” Geoff's smile was still present and it caused the other boy to wonder if he knew about the weakness for his grin. The steam from the pizza was practically fogging Awsten's glasses. It was the first time he was wearing the pair in front of Geoff but the other boy wasn't surprised. Geoff thought the thin, square, silver frames suited Awsten. “We're having dinner together.”

“How romantic.” Awsten quipped, taking a bite of the slice in front of him. He had come to terms with eating a piece wouldn't undo a year's worth of progress. Everything in moderation or something. “You sure know how to woo a guy.”

“Sorry. Never wooed a guy before.” Geoff leaned toward the coffee table, grabbing his pumpkin spice candle. He had noticed it in the window of the shop next to his work and felt the urge to buy it. “Didn't know you were a romantic.” With the strike of a match, Geoff lit the small orange candle and allowed the smell to enter the living room. “That better?”

“Yeah.” Awsten smiled at the small gesture, eyes locked on the bright red flame. It made him miss someone but the jab to his side pulled him out of his head. “It is.” When Awsten had eaten his slice of pizza, Geoff threw another on his plate. He made it half way through the slice before abandoning it, handing it off to his roommate. Geoff ate it happily as Awsten's let out a yawn. Awsten leaned his head on Geoff's shoulder. It was softer than he expected and almost as warm as the hand he had held all those weeks ago. The two boys stayed like that for a while, comfortable in the silence and candle light. Geoff didn't even notice the heart on his chest turn to a honey color.


	5. Are You Up To The Challenge?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a week late! I had some family issues come up recently and I'm hoping things will calm down soon.

“Hey you.” The smell of fall filled the air; a mixture of apple, pumpkin, cinnamon and cool air. Awsten wasn't quite sure where the chill in the room was coming from considering the fact that there wasn't any open windows in the front. The windows in the front were only open when Geoff was working and instead of spending his time in the coffee shop, he was on a hunt for a cell phone. He had mentioned wanting one for a while now and had finally gotten around to getting one.

“Hey yourself.” Michaela was glad to see a familiar face during one of the down periods of her shift. She was the only barista for the next hour or so until a boy Geoff had mentioned Awsten referred to as McMuscles showed up. His name was Zack and although he was entirely the type of guy Michaela would be interested in, he appeared incredibly uninterested in her. She wasn't aware of his shy nature just yet -he had only started a few days prior- and had taken his attitude somewhat personally.

“Seems busy.” Awsten remarked dryly, eyes skimming the inside of the store. Aside from the two of them, the coffee shop was empty with the exception of an older woman in the corner reading. He couldn't have picked a better time to visit the young barista. Awsten was nervous. He told himself to breathe in and out slowly, a technique he had learned a few years prior in therapy. It didn't help. He still felt like he was going to puke the blueberry pancakes Geoff insisted on making.

“Don't you know? It's rush hour.” Michaela's eyes dropped to the bouquet of flowers in Awsten's arms. They were a dozen pink roses with about half as many lilies. The arrangement made her think of her favorite Disney princess for some reason. As a kid, Michaela was sort of jealous of Sleeping Beauty in a weird way. She would've given anything to sleep forever and not need to deal with anything her life seemed to throw at her. “Awful nice flowers you've got there. Who's the lucky girl?”

“I think you know her actually.” Awsten had practiced this conversation more times than anyone would know. Rehearsing his lines was a common occurrence for Awsten. He did it for absolutely everything, including when he would order his food. Before he started the seemingly odd practice, he would always trip over his words. Awsten wished he would've figured out his trick a few years earlier. It would've saved him a lot of trouble in middle school.

“Oh really?” The flowers were more beautiful than anything Micheala had seen face to face in far too long. The only person that ever brought her flowers was a friend of her's named Ellie and it was only on her birthday, so it didn't really count. “Please tell me it's not that awful girl you work with.” Michaela would never forget the day that Awsten, her favorite regular, walked into her store with one of her least favorite people on the planet. Ciara Hanna was a special kind of evil she hadn't expected to encounter with someone she actually sorta liked.

“Ciara? No.” The hatred went both ways but it was undisputed that the pair would've fought over who hated each other more. Ciara started the situation when she moved from Burbank to Houston, according to Michaela. Ciara had walked into Michaela's school and stole the spotlight immediately. Michaela would've rather been dead than live in the shadow of someone like Ciara. She did what anyone would've done. Sabotage her. “She works here actually.”

“Jenna isn't in until later.” Michaela shook the topic from her mind. She didn't want to think about it anymore. It wasn't her fault. Ciara deserved it. It wasn't her fault. You can't be responsible for somebody else's actions. These are the things she told herself to ease the guilt. It haunted her every now and then, some days more than others. This was one of those days.

“They're actually for you.” Awsten's declaration put her mind at ease somehow. Receiving presents always made Michaela feel better about herself. Being on the receiving end of a gift always made her feel happy that she was on another person's mind, even if it was just for a fleeting moment. Awsten extended the flowers to her with a nervous smile on his face. He couldn't believe how enchantingly happy she looked. Michaela took the flowers out of his hands and kept them in her own, admiring the beauty within the arrangement.

“Seriously? Oh my god.” The bouquet itself was absolutely incredible and topped anything Ellie had ever given her without even trying. She was sort of convinced that Awsten could've brought her some tulips and they would've still been better for some reason. The roses looked like they were picked right out of a fairytale and put in her palms. “Tell me you made it.” Awsten had spoken to her about making arrangements on a couple occasions. She would always joke that he should bring her one sometime; an ounce of truth hidden behind her teasing. Michaela didn't expect it to actually happen. Awsten nodded.

“It's stunning.” Stunning was an understatement. The pink petals of the roses reminded her of a character from one of her favorite shows as a child; the fictional girl's dress looking like it was actually made of flower petals. That show was one of the few times in her life that she wished her hair was brown. More than anything, she wanted her hair to match that of her hero's. Luckily, Michaela's fascination with the show faded over time but the dress seemed to stain her mind. “Thank you so much. You're so thoughtful.”

“Don't worry about it.” Awsten was still in the process of trying to play it cool but it wasn't going so well. He had a thousand thoughts running through his brain. His mind felt like it was busier than Grand Central Station. Did she like him? If she did, did she like him like that? What if she said no? More importantly, what if she said yes? Awsten wasn't prepared for her answer no matter what it was.

“What can I get you?” Michaela had a feeling where this conversation was going and she wasn't all too surprised. Awsten had been flirting with her for an excruciatingly long time. It was to a point that her and Ellie had a bet on how long it would take Awsten to actually ask her out. Michaela had lost the bet months ago. She really didn't think that someone with such an attention grabbing aesthetic could be so shy sometimes.

“No business today.” It was out of character for Awsten to stop by Common Grounds and not place an order. He was pretty sure it was his first time doing something so pointless. Who comes to a coffee shop and orders nothing? If he didn't have an interest in the blonde haired girl, he wouldn't have been there. “Just came to bother you.”

“You never bother me.” She was being honest for once, Awsten really was one of her favorite customers. Michaela had an awfully addicting problem; lying. The lies would slip past her lips far too often and almost instantly dig her into a grave she could only try to dig herself out of by lying again. It was a defense mechanism of sorts. She just wanted everyone around her to like her despite the fact that she viewed herself as painfully boring. “What's up?”

“What are you doing tonight?” That was it. Awsten had finally done the impossible. He asked one of the most attractive women he knew on a date. Her answer was bound to change his life no matter what she said. He wasn't sure what she was going to say but he was positive of one thing; Michaela Okland was entirely out of his league. If she said yes, Awsten would be shocked.

“I was going to go to this party to try and see my sorority sisters. Why?” It was more truthful than most of the things Michaela said. She was actually supposed to go to this party and try and impress the members of the sorority she was trying to get into. She practically had made a fool of herself on campus for an invitation. There wasn't any way that she was skipping the party for a date with Awsten. An idea popped into her head while she watched Awsten run a hand through his hair.

“Never mind.” He felt stupid. Of course a girl like Michaela would have plans on such short notice. He was an idiot for even thinking otherwise. He would spend his night with the company of The Bachelor and potentially his guitar. Awsten had gotten the guitar a few years back from a pawn shop and taught himself to play it over time. The stringed instrument was scuffed in a couple places and had a broken string or two. It had seen better days. Awsten told himself he would give his guitar some love over the weekend to make up for the recent neglect.

“You can't do that to me.” She could bring Awsten with her. He wasn't flawless but he could definitely help win over some hard to please people. He was older than her and had probably done the whole college party thing before. He could guide her through it and make her look cool and more experienced. She was settled; Awsten Knight would be taking her to that party. Now, all she had to do was convince him of it. That was going to be the hard part. Michaela was bad at all things subtle. “Why? What's up?”

“I was going to ask if you wanted to grab dinner.” Having to spell it out made him want to throw up into the recycling bin to his left. Was vomit recyclable? He doubted it.

“Dinner? Is Geoff busy or something?” Michaela might've been teasing him but the truth of the matter is that he was busy. Geoff had somehow hit it off with Chloe during their time together and was supposed to be going on a date with her tonight. The thought of his roommate spending his time with her made his stomach churn. The only way he could try and get rid of the hollow feeling inside him was through trying to find the love of his life.

“He's got a date.” Besides, finding his soulmate was a better idea than wasting his time watching the latest season of The Bachelor again. True love wasn't going to be found through a television screen. Ever since finding Michaela and Ciara, everything on the soulmate front had come to a halt. Awsten might've had a year to find the person but he was sort of hoping that everyone would make themselves known in the first few weeks or something.

“So I'm just a backup plan?” Michaela jutted her bottom lip out into her signature pout. Today, her lips were painted a bright ruby red. It was her first time trying such a bold color and she wasn't originally sure if she was going to like it or not. It was only a few hours into her shift and she had already made more in tips than the day before. Suddenly, she was thankful she had tried on the new shade.

“What? No way! I-” Awsten was flustered to say the least. The words stopped tumbling out of his mouth when he noticed the person across the counter from him was laughing. Michaela was never fond of her laugh, yet another thing in an endless list of insecurities. To her, it sounded loud and obnoxious and the snorting didn't help her feel any better. To Awsten, it sounded like a symphony constructed for only his ears. He could've drown in the way it sounded.

“I'm kidding.” Relief had hit Awsten when her laughter did but it was finally starting to sink into his skin and enter his bloodstream. He was positive that for a moment, he had blown it. That had been his one fear since starting whatever game him and Geoff had unintentionally become a part of. Awsten was constantly paranoid about destroying his chances with one of his potential soulmates. He knew he already blew it with Ciara and didn't want to ruin his chances with anyone else. “Is she cute?”

“She's Satan in the form of a girl.” Awsten tried to ignore the fact that Geoff mentioned Chloe was going to help him with his search for a phone. He didn't understand why she needed to be there given the fact that technology seemed to be one of Geoff's fortes but he didn't press on the situation. It didn't help that sometimes Geoff would ask to borrow his phone so that he could call the girl. They'd spend hours talking away on one of Awsten's only forms of entertainment. Besides, what was it? The 1980's? He should've been glad that Geoff was getting his own phone but he wasn't. He knew Chloe would always be on the other end.

“Funny. Didn't peg Ciara as his type.” When Awsten and Ciara were together, Michaela wore her perfected retail smile every moment she saw them in the shop. For a year and three months, she was a professional liar. Telling Ciara she loved her outfit, smiling at the two of them and pretending to care about their date plans. It was one of the hardest things she had ever had to do. She never wanted to do it again.

“Her name's Chloe and she's worse.” Awsten didn't know Chloe to the extent he knew Ciara and never wanted to. Every moment he spent talking to the blonde girl, he felt a part of his soul slowly dying. He didn't care how over dramatic that would've sounded to an outsider. There was just something about Chloe that made every part of his body ache. It was uncomfortable, like a sting when you put hand sanitizer on a cut. Unexpected and unappreciated. He could've gone his entire life without seeing her again but life had other plans for him.

“I'll take your word for it.” Michaela wasn't usually one to talk badly about other people unprovoked. She tended to stay silent if she didn't have kind things to say. It was a new philosophy, one she wished she had taken up years ago. Her eyes flickered to the boy still looking more awkward than usual. Michaela had totally forgotten that she dodged his original question. “Dinner. Let's do dinner at six. Where?”

“Wherever you want.” Awsten was used to Ciara picking out places whenever they went out. He didn't think he was very picky but he was positive that Geoff would fight him on that statement. He always seemed to possess a desire for Greek food but he kept that fact to himself. Awsten wasn't entirely sure why he always had a hunger for the food but blamed it on the fact he was part Greek. It wasn't a significant part of him, probably something like twenty or twenty-five percent, but it helped him rationalize his cravings regardless.

“Let me think about it and I'll text you.” Michaela's eyes ran up and down the oblivious boy quickly. Awsten would make the perfect accessory to her party. He was cute but not cute enough that she should be worried. He was muscular enough to protect her from any creepy guys but probably not strong enough to pin her down against her will. He was a safe bet but a part of her was hoping he wasn't. She wanted an adventure.“Dress cute. I'm dragging you to this party after.”

“Am I not usually dressed cute?” Awsten was feeling fine in his rainbow Guess shirt until she had made that comment. Sure, some of his pieces were a bit out there but they added character. It couldn't have been the black skinny jeans he was wearing or the pair of white Pumas on his toes. He had fussed over his outfit prior to leaving the apartment fifteen minutes ago. He wanted Geoff's opinion but Geoff seemed a bit too eager to meet up with Chloe.

“Don't wear your sweater that looks like a carpet.” Awsten opened his mouth to object but a sound didn't pass through his lips. Michaela had her favorites and far from favorites on Awsten. Usually, he was fine but every now and then, he looked like a mess. Sometimes she wondered how much Geoff actually liked him if he let Awsten leave the house looking like a tacky rug. Her favorite piece of his by far was a seafoam green tank top with a row of little white geese across the chest. “Actually, wear something that shows off your arms. You have nice arms.”

“I have nice arms?” Awsten looked down at his covered biceps in confusion. Had the last two years of working out actually done something to his once tiny arms? Awsten had been scrawny and out of shape a few years back. It wasn't until he had started seeing Ciara that he started hitting the gym regularly and lifting his barbells every night. He hadn't noticed much of a different but then again, he wasn't exactly paying attention.

“Blind and dumb. That's hot.” Michaela was binge watching The Simple Life in her spare time and every now and then a bit of Paris Hilton would come out of her. Half an hour earlier, she had called a soccer mom bitch unironically and earned herself a dirty look from Cindy or whatever generic white name she had. “I'll text you on my break.” Awsten had never been more excited for the clock to hit 1:00PM.

**********

“Why dinner?” Michaela was picking at the pasta in front of her. It was fantastic, probably one of the best white sauces she had ever had. There was just something wrong. Usually, she had no problem leading people on and using them for whatever she needed. It was something about the way Awsten looked at her that made her feel strange. Maybe it was guilt or something. The feeling was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

“I eat. You eat. Why not?” Awsten's reasoning was much more than that but he wasn't going to admit to spending an hour brainstorming possible ideas out loud with Geoff. The other boy was disinterested in almost every suggestion but said that dinner was a good idea, probably because he was always hungry. Awsten wasn't so much hungry as he was nervous. He was picking at his salmon at a slower rate than Michaela. It didn't taste as good as he thought it would. He was terrified he was going to blow it with a potential soulmate.

“Because it's not 1994.” She looked across the table at the other boy and felt a pang in her chest. He looked great; green tank top on and perfectly tousled hair. She should've been happy with that but she couldn't help but feel horrible. Michaela had no intention of seeing Awsten again after this. Hell, if she wasn't trying to impress people, she wouldn't even be sitting across the table from him. All Michaela could hope for was that Awsten was a perfect accessory at this party and would secure her place in the sorority. Maybe then it would be worth the feeling in her heart. “People don't go out to dinner anymore.”

“You weren't even alive in 1994. You wouldn't know.” He learned that Michaela was twenty-one, which shocked him. He had always told himself he would never date anyone younger than his little sister, who was twenty-two right now. Ciara had been the same age as Gracie and as it turned out, they knew each other. It was weird how quickly the two of them hit it off. He wondered if Michaela would click with his sister as fast. He was really close to his family despite the fact he hadn't visited since Geoff had come around.

“You've got me there.” Michaela had started watching Catfish and was instantly obsessed. She couldn't help but feel for the people behind the fake profiles. A part of her related to the strangers; she too wasn't comfortable being who she really was. If she used other people to get where she wanted to be, she would never have to worry about people trying to get close to her. If nobody ever tried to get close to her, they couldn't hate her. Michaela hid behind a carefully constructed mask. Her's was just undetectable to the general public. “It's just such an old fashioned date idea.”

“Who said this is a date?” Awsten replied coyly, taking another bite of his risotto. Carbs were his arch nemesis. Usually he was pretty good at avoiding the delicious macro but when Geoff came into his life, so did ever carb that ever existed. Pizzas, pastries, breads, chips. The list was endless and it was all Geoff's fault. Luckily, Awsten had an unspoken rule of eating any of Geoff's food without permission. He was too ashamed to ever ask for any of it but that didn't stop Geoff from offering whatever junk food he was eating to the other boy and it's not like he could be rude and decline like he had in the beginning. He just started doing push-ups in the morning to balance things out.

“Who invites a friend to dinner?” All she had to do was get through the entire night. She could just tell Awsten tomorrow that as much as she liked him, she thought that they were better as friends. It was only a night. She did stuff like this all the time. The guys just never looked at her with such adoration in their eyes. It made her feel awful. The feeling lined the bottom of her stomach and remained. She hoped it wouldn't always be this way. Michaela wouldn't know what to do with herself if she always felt this guilty about her actions. Her world would unravel around her and there would be nothing she could do to stop it.

“Geoff and I go to dinner.” The two boys went out to dinner a handful of times, usually when something bad happened. One of them would come home to the other on the couch and just utter the two words that their entire system was based on; bad day. The other boy would stand up and put their shoes on and take them for dinner, listening to the bad day in intense detail. It started when Awsten came home soaking wet with a scowl on his face. Geoff told the other boy to get changed, threw on his shoes and took him to a Thai place around the corner. It quickly became one of Awsten's favorites.

“Geoff is your platonic boyfriend.” When Michaela originally saw them together, she thought that they were dating. Awsten didn't give off much of a straight vibe and Geoff had accented him perfectly the day they came into Common Grounds together. It was only when Geoff started working there that she realized they weren't dating. It didn't matter if they weren't kissing, they still did everything together. She quickly dubbed the pair platonic boyfriends.

“The position of non-romantic boyfriend is taken actually.” It was taken by someone Awsten hadn't had a real conversation with since Geoff entered his life. He dwelled in his mind often. It was hard not to actually talk given the amount of text messages the other boy sent him. Every morning, they would send each other good morning and good night messages. It didn't matter if they hadn't spoken all day. It was a token of appreciation for one another despite their busy lives. Aside from that, they hadn't spoken.

“By?” The pasta Michaela was eating was her cheat meal and that's exactly what it felt like. The sauce was rich enough by itself but as if that wasn't sinful enough, the cheese inside the tortellini was incredible. She probably should have ordered something similar to Awsten considering what she was wearing to this party but she had a moment of weakness. Thankfully, her dress wasn't too tight around her stomach. The baby blue dress focused more on showing off her legs than her torso.

“By my friend Jawn.” Awsten was wondering how the red haired boy was doing. When their lives got less chaotic, the two of them would have to catch up. Jawn was always working but he couldn't blame him. Between being a photographer for The Houston Press four days a week and shooting concerts almost every night, it didn't leave a whole lot of free time. Any free time Jawn had, he was usually just editing photos while checking out new bands to shoot or applying for press passes. “Who I haven't spoken to in forever. So he probably hates me.”

“Why're you avoiding Jawn?” Awsten didn't think he was avoiding Jawn until Michaela mentioned it. Even if they didn't have huge talks, they would still update each other on anything big in their lives. Jawn told him that he got approved for shooting 5 Seconds of Summer and Awsten freaked out enough for the both of them. It would only make sense that Awsten should share some of the developments in his life.

“I'm not!” Only he didn't. He hadn't told Jawn a lot of things. Geoff being probably one of the biggest things he was hiding. How was he supposed to explain a random guy living with him? Jawn would know that the pair hadn't known each other very long; Jawn knew all of his friends. Jawn was incredibly social and knew almost everyone. If Jawn didn't know them, he knew somebody who knew them. Even if Geoff didn't die in this timeline, Awsten wasn't exactly sure how to explain his new roommate.

“Then why haven't I heard about him until now?” Awsten was positive that he had mentioned Jawn to her. Maybe he hadn't used his name or something. Jawn hadn't ever come into Common Grounds because of his ridiculous brand loyalty to Starbucks. Awsten had also once loved the corporate chain but had been swayed when Ciara took him into the indie hangout. He was sold on the fairy lights and once he saw the price of the coffee, he never looked back.

“Okay. I'm avoiding him a little.” It was hard not to. He was keeping something hidden from everyone else and it was harder than he ever expected. Awsten Knight was bad at keeping his mouth shut and that made keeping secrets nearly impossible. This was hard because it was a secret to everybody. Everybody with the exception of Geoff. “He's just one of my best friends and I'm keeping a huge secret from him.”

"Oooooh! Juicy.” Michaela had a love of gossip and secrets. She viewed it as a form of entertainment with the potential for future ammunition if needed. It gave her something to focus on instead of analyzing herself and everyone around her. It acted as a mindless form of entertainment like television. She could take a moment to indulge in something so trivial every now and again. “What are you hiding? Are you hiding it from me too?”

“I'm hiding it from everybody.” He and Geoff were sharing this secret, binding the two of them together. Nobody else on the planet knew about the game. Awsten wasn't even sure if mentioned it was against the rules. Geoff was convinced that telling someone would result in an instant game over. Neither of them had gotten a chance to consult in their all knowing NPC that was hidden within Geoff's grave. They had just come to an agreement over time; tell no one. “You wouldn't believe me if I told you.”

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” Michaela threw on her signature smile, an attempt to pull the information off of the boy's tongue. She had a handful of tricks that helped her get what she wanted and that was one of them. If it wasn't for the weird feeling in the pit of her stomach, she would've gone for the information harder by batting her eyelashes. She wasn't used to feeling bad about her actions. “Try me.”

“I'm not sure I'm allowed to. It involves somebody else too.” Awsten's mind wandered to Geoff and how he was doing on his date with the devil. He didn't see what the other boy saw in she who shall not be named. Geoff must've seen something past all of the negative energy and tattoos. Awsten refused to think that the other boy was that desperate for love. He wanted to check in on Geoff now that he had his phone number. He got a text a few hours earlier from the other boy telling him he had gotten a phone already.

“Geoff?” Michaela didn't need three guesses. She could piece it together on her first try. It was an easy enough thing to figure out. Awsten wasn't a mystery to her at all. He was transparent like cellophane even if he tried to be mysterious every now and again.

“How'd you know?” Awsten had saved Geoff's number under the little purple space invaders emoji. He had everyone in his phone saved as an emoji that correlated to who they were as a person or the role they played in his life. Geoff's was an indication of both. He wondered what he was saved under in Geoff's phone but he knew it was probably something just generic like his name.

“College classes teach me more about people than real life ever has.” The classes taught Michaela more about the human mind than anyone should ever know. She did a lot of independent research on the subject in her free time. It didn't help that she used all of the information she learned to help her manipulate the people around her. The word sociopath was thrown around far too frequently by her previous mental health professional. Sociopaths didn't feel things like guilt. A narcissist was a better fit for her according to her current psychiatrist. “Does he know about Geoff?”

“Jawn?” Awsten figured that if this party was a bust, which it totally would be, he could send Geoff a text. Just to check in on his date and maybe even act as an escape if Geoff had come to his senses. That was his best case scenario. He could seem like a good friend in front of Michaela, leave the obnoxiously loud party and save Geoff from a monster all at the same time.

“Yeah.” Michaela's mind wondered to the party they were supposed to be going to. One of the pledges she had befriended had been asked to help set up by the sorority. Michaela was asked as well but the blonde immediately lied and said she had a date. Her sorority sisters insisted that she should bring the guy to their gathering and she agreed. It had been convenient that Awsten had asked her out. It was almost like he was doing her a favor.

“No.” Now that he thought about it, he could also send Jawn a text at the party. Maybe if Geoff didn't need him, Jawn might. Jawn used to invite him over to help him with his work sometimes. It usually just consisted of Awsten giving his opinion on a shot every now and then and showing Jawn some unknown band from the middle of nowhere that he should shoot sometime. Awsten used to hate helping the other boy but a part of him missed it right now. He missed Jawn. “I don't really know how to bring it up.”

“Just tell him you got a roommate and you guys hit it off.” Awsten was overthinking the situation if you asked Michaela. She thought that there wasn't much to hide unless somewhere across the three boys that there was some sort of feelings. She already sort of theorized that there was some underlying feelings between Geoff and Awsten based off a couple of context clues she had been given. The way Awsten was hesitating about Jawn lead her to believe there was something else there. “Unless he's the jealous type. Then maybe leave out that last part.”

“He's not jealous really. I'm worried about him not liking Geoff.” Ding ding ding. That was it. That wasn't a usual feeling to have when introducing a pair of friends to one another. It was just unclear to Michaela if the boy had feelings for Geoff or Jawn and why he was suppressing them. It was 2018. Who the fuck gave a shit if you were gay? “I feel like introducing them is bringing someone home to my mom.”

“Maybe Geoff should be sitting where I am.” Michaela joked, subtly testing the waters with her idea. She was leaning towards him having feelings for her coworker exclusively based on the fact he hadn't mentioned Jawn to her in all the time they had known each other. His reply would tell her everything she needed to know.

“Then you'd have to go to your party by yourself.” Or so she thought. She was expecting him to get defensive or say something heartfelt. She wasn't expecting him to flip the script and put the attention back on her. Awsten was deflecting the the statement which provided Michaela was absolutely nothing other than the fact he wasn't comfortable discussing it.

“You're right.” It didn't matter if Awsten was avoiding her playful accusation, he was right. Without him, she didn't know what she was going to do tonight. If Awsten hadn't asked her out, she probably would've asked Viking to come with her to the party and prayed that nobody asked any questions. She would've posted about her problem on twitter but unfortunately all of her sorority sisters followed her account. They were all impressed by her follow count. “You're older. You've been to college parties before. You can help me look cool tonight.”

“Totally.” Awsten had never been to a college party probably because of the fact he never went to college. It was a subject that had never come up with Michaela. That and the fact that he hated parties with every aspect of his being. Awsten wasn't usually this easily swayed but the blonde girl would've been able to convince him to walk to the ends of the earth for her. The worst part was she was aware of her power.

**********

“How long have you been in Houston?” Geoff asked curiously, finishing his first beer. Before he got the chance to wave down their server, Chloe did it for him. She requested another drink for the both of them despite the fact she still had half of her martini in her glass. If Geoff had to guess, he assumed she was accustomed to large amounts of alcohol.

“A while now.” Her answer was less specific than he was expecting. Geoff had been anticipating some sort of time frame but instead got an undetermined amount of time. “I moved here from Ohio. Awful place. Never visit.” Her words about the place might've been cold but there was a smirk present with the delivery, giving Geoff the impression that maybe Ohio wasn't so bad after all. She was hard to read to the average person and to someone as inexperienced at reading others as Geoff, he stood no chance.

“I'll keep it in mind.” He shot her a look that Geoff would later learn some people called bedroom eyes. His glance wasn't intended to have that sort of vibe to it. Geoff might've been in his late twenties but he didn't exactly have the experience most people had at that age. He had mostly kept to himself in the years of his young adult life. It was mostly intentional. He didn't have time for people that couldn't understand that video games were among his top priorities. “I'm from California. Anahiem.”

“Didn't take you for a Cali boy.” Chloe remarked more to herself than to the man in front of her. She was more nervous than she let on, which was out of character for the brown eyed girl. She had a confidence about her that made most people intimidated about her. They took her self belief as arrogance and spun the narrative that she was self absorbed and egotistical which couldn't have been farther from the truth. Chloe wouldn't have agreed with the statement everyone in her life told her; she was selfless.

“Thought I was a naive Texan?” The server had come around and gave the two another round of drinks, earning a smile from Geoff. Chloe wasn't sure why his smile made her feel like she was staring at the sun. There was a warmth to the look that she couldn't explain that put her a little at ease. He took a long sip of the beer in front of him, fighting the urge to hum the song that was named after the blonde drink. It tasted better than he thought it did. 

“Not really.” The brown eyed girl confessed. Although Chloe had spent her time thinking of Geoff she hadn't thought much about where he was from. There was an ethereal vibe to him that she couldn't put her finger on. There was something that drew her to the brown haired boy. It made her want to protect him from the cruelty of the world around him. Chloe didn't believe much in love at first sight but if there was anything along the line of soulmates, she thought Geoff might've been her's. “You're a bit of a mystery.”

“You don't know the half of it.” She might of thought that he was joking but he couldn't have been further from the truth. He couldn't just tell her that a purple haired boy accidentally rose him from the dead and his life depended on him finding the love of his life. His mind wandered to Awsten. The other boy was on a date of his own and a part of Geoff was happy for him. Awsten was finally making a move towards one of his soulmates. Another part of him felt hollow. There was only one problem; it wasn't Geoff. “I'm full of surprises.”

“Oh really?” Chloe wasn't usually one to go on dates often. She got asked out every now and then but she never felt a connection from any of the suitors. She would've much rather gone out and grabbed drinks with friends. It wasn't usually like her to make a move on someone, let alone someone like Geoff. She might've been confident but his ocean eyes made her feel like she could've easily been pulled out of her seat and stranded out to sea. “I'll have to keep it in mind.”

“I'm on your mind often then?” Geoff could let the words flow naturally instead of overthinking every single one before they left his mouth when he was drinking. It was one of the thinks he loved about the bad tasting beverages. For once in his life he could say the things he couldn't manage to say sober. Although alcohol was an elixir of truth for Geoff, every so often it got him into trouble.

“You're not supposed to be this smooth.” Chloe had finished her drink and began on her second one, tapping her finger on the cool side of the glass. Guys like Geoff weren't supposed to have game like he was. Chloe would've imagined something like that for from a guy like Awsten than Geoff. Awsten might've looked like he had all the experience in the world by the way he dressed and presented himself but it couldn't have been farther from the truth. Awsten put up a lot of fronts in his life, that being one of them. “I wasn't expecting it.”

“What you were expecting?” He was genuinely curious to here what type of person Chloe thought he was. As somebody who worked in retail, he could only assume that she was decent at reading types of situations and people. She could, although her readings weren't always correct. Geoff pounded the remainder of the drink, suppressing the grimace from the awful taste. He raised a hand to his server, requesting another drink. The alcohol hadn't hit him just yet.

“I'm not sure.” The room wasn't spinning but there was a light coating around everything. It made Chloe's eyes shine in the dim light of the bar. Geoff propped one of his elbows up on the wooden table and looked at the other girl in awe. He stared into her brown eyes until she broke the gaze. Geoff hadn't remembered how much he had loved brown eyes until now. He smiled at the girl across from him. “Am I what you were expecting?”

“If you don't expect things from other people, you'll never be disappointed.” If only Geoff could follow his own advice for once, he wouldn't be in this mess. He was trying to find comfort in a set of arms that weren't the ones he knew he wanted deep down. It didn't matter. It was unlikely that he was even the one meant for Awsten. It was probably one of the other seven people out there. He had convinced himself that it couldn't possibly be either of the blonde girls.

“Are you always this deep?” Chloe glanced back up at the man across from her from under her lashes, a laugh lingering on her lips. She wasn't expecting Geoff to be like this but she wasn't disappointed. If all of his surprises made him this appealing, she couldn't wait for the rest of them.

“Only when I'm buzzed.” He was too busy in thought to notice another drink being brought to him. It was a bit of a cop out on Geoff's end; he hadn't really answered her question. He couldn't answer her question properly without hurting her at least a little. He hadn't thought much about her at all, let alone having any expectations. He couldn't say out loud, even with alcohol. His roommate might've been in the business of breaking hearts but he wasn't. 

**********

Geoff's eyes opened reluctantly. He felt like shit to put it lightly. His head felt like it was on the verge of exploding and his mouth had a foul taste to it. He rubbed his hand over his dry eyes before scanning the room and realizing that he wasn't in Awsten's apartment. Wherever he was, it was far nicer than where he lived. He lifted the green comforter off of him and realized he was naked. He scanned the room and noticed his Pac-Man boxers in the corner. He threw the underwear back on and glanced out the window, trying to figure out what part of Houston he was in.

Outside gave him no clues. It was just an abundancy of trees and apartment buildings. He turned his gaze back inside and began to try and find clues to what happened the night before. He felt a pound in his head, confirming what he already knew. He had drank too much. It was something that he did a lot when he was alive the first time. It was his first time drinking since coming back to life and his alcohol tolerance had vanished. He only remembered having three or four drinks. The person he used to be could polish off half of a case of beer before feeling a buzz.

A buzz came from a phone on the nightstand Geoff vaguely recognized. Was it his? He wasn't sure. He just got his phone. He leaned over the phone and glanced at the notification on the screen. It was from someone named Eric and it called the phone's owner babygirl. He realized this wasn't his phone but whoever's apartment he was in. He had slept with a taken girl.

He bit his lip and it was met with a sting of pain shot through his body. He touched his lower lip and glanced at his hand, a small amount of blood had pooled onto his hand. He rubbed his crimson coated hand on his boxers in vain. The blood had stained the two of his fingers. What the fuck happened to him last night? He noticed a vanity in the corner and made his way over to the white mirror across the top. His reflection shocked him.

His hair was everywhere, even more than usual. He usually looked like an anime character or some Myspace kid when he first woke up but for some reason, his hair was messier. He pushed the hair out of his eyes to examine his lower lip only to notice a dark purple bruise form around his right eye. Had he gotten into a fight? Whatever had happened, it didn't explain why he was here or where he even was for that matter. He bit his lip subconsciously causing his lip to sting once again.

He went closer to the mirror, suddenly thankful for the sunlight. The lighting on the mirror was turned off, supporting his theory that whoever had lived here wasn't home. He studied his reflection carefully, noticing his split lip. Leave it to Geoff to get into a fight while he was drunk. He had never been in a fight in his entire life and judging by his face, he hadn't exactly won. He was kind of hoping that the other guy looked worse than him. What kind of person slept with the loser of a flight anyways? Maybe by some miracle, he had actually won.

Geoff had no interest in finding out any more about whoever lived here. He just wanted to put his clothes on and go back to his apartment. This was a bad day. He would need to text Awsten those two words and have his day turn around. Where was his phone? He had found his pants and shirt pretty easily. He gave up on finding the other one of his socks but refused to leave without his phone.

He scanned the room quickly, trying not to take in any of the details of the girl's life. Was it even a girl? What if it was a boy? He had never slept with another man before. He had thought about it enough times but he wasn't actually sure if he would actually go through with it or not. Geoff shook his head at the thought. If he was going to sleep with the member of the same sex, he would've wanted to at least remember if he liked it or not. He wasn't sure if he would've been the top or the bottom anyways. Geoff was always a dominant person with woman so naturally he assumed that he would've been a top. What if he was a bottom? That would explain the pain in his lower back.

He didn't want to know anything about this person anymore. He didn't want to ever see them again. What happened to Chloe? Had he scared her off with his drunken stupidity? He felt sick at the thought. Geoff actually was starting to like her. A small noise from the other end table made him fall back to reality. He snatched his half charged phone and clicked on Awsten's name. He typed two words in all caps which was something that Awsten used a lot more than him. BAD DAY. He didn't even look at the unread texts from the other boy, one of which had the same two words.

Geoff took a breath, trying to calm himself down. Whoever's apartment this was, it was fine. They probably weren't home anymore. He didn't hear too much noise. All Geoff had to do was open the bedroom door and leave the apartment. He could call himself an Uber or a Lyft and head back to his apartment and be met with a familiar face. All he had to do was twist the knob in front of him and he would be on track to getting himself some pizza and a lecture about his drunken stupidity from a purple haired loudmouth of a boy. Geoff opened the door in front of him and was could not believe what he saw in front of him. There wasn't one girl in front of him but two.


	6. One On One Is No Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will be slower until around January because I'm getting more hours at work as Christmas is coming up. Sorry! I'm still gonna try my best to update as much as I can.

"What the fuck." The pair had gone for brunch when Geoff returned from his interesting adventure. It was a spot that wasn't too far from the apartment that Geoff had wanted to check out for a while. Despite the fact Awsten had passed the restaurant every day for the last few years, he had never went in up until now. He was eating his way through his second plate of pancakes, partially convinced that the carbs would make him feel better. They didn't but it didn't stop him from flagging down the waitress and ordering another plate. Geoff wasn't the only one with a wild night. "You didn't."

"I did." Geoff was picking at a plate of fries in front of him. He didn't have much of an appetite for once. He blamed it on the fact he had already technically had breakfast but he knew that wasn't the case. Awsten couldn't believe what the boy across the table was saying. It didn't matter if he was battered up or not. It wasn't possible to sleep with not one but two women in the same night. Geoff didn't even tell him the craziest part. He wasn't sure if it was the right time to tell Awsten about an interesting detail of his evening. Even if it did make his stomach churn."I don't remember all of it but it definitely happened."

"Explain." The black eye suited Geoff in a weird way. Awsten thought that it added to the vague bad boy meet nerd thing he had going on. If Awsten had met Geoff under other circumstances, he might've thought that Geoff rode a motorcycle and smoked cigarettes. He didn't do either. Unlike the royal purple splattered across Geoff's eyelid, the split lip didn't compliment his taffy colored lips at all. Both of them had insane nights but Awsten was more interested in what possessed his roommate to get into a fistfight and fuck his way through the population of Houston. He had more questions than he knew what to do with and more than anything was craving some form of answers. Awsten's story could wait.

"You asked for it." Geoff was in the process of nursing his hangover with a mimosa, as per Awsten's suggestion. Awsten didn't know much about alcohol but he knew that whenever Jawn had a bad hangover, he needed more alcohol. Maybe Awsten wasn't as smart as he made himself out to be. Geoff figured he could afford to get a buzz going again. It was Saturday after all and he didn't work today. It would've been fine to puke his guts into the toilet tonight. "After this, I'd better here about what happened with Michaela."

"Don't ever say that name to me again." Awsten covered his face with his hands, shielding himself from a look of judgement. Geoff's interest was piqued to say the least. His mind raced at a million and one ways that Awsten could've ruined his date and all of them were hilarious. It wasn't exactly that he wanted to Awsten to fail with Michaela, not a hundred percent anyways. He didn't like the two of them together but it would've been nice for Awsten to find his soulmate that quickly. It would've made their lives a lot easier. Then again, Geoff's life wasn't ever an easy thing. "Get on with it already. Tell me what happened."

**********

"You're up early." It didn't matter that Chloe was only wearing an oversized Linkin Park shirt. Geoff wasn't listening to a word she was saying. His eyes were focused on the other girl in front of him but more importantly, her chest. On the left hand side was a small grey heart. His heart was about to burst out of his chest and head back to Awsten's without him. He slept with one of Awsten's soulmates and the worst part was he couldn't even remember it. He didn't remember the girl's name either. Had she had gotten a sequence? Shouldn't Geoff's mind have been full of information about the other person standing in front of him? His brain was blank. He blamed the alcohol.

"We were just about to bring you breakfast." The other girl had pink bright pink hair that reminded Geoff of Princess Bubblegum. He must've been watching too much Adventure Time. He was losing his mind. He looked the girl up and down and noticed a collar around her neck but instead of where it would say her name, it read kitten. Whoever this girl was, she wasn't wearing pants either, which would've been a perk in any other situation. Instead, she wore a pair of pink panties and a pastel purple crop top with something Geoff couldn't make out in white cursive. He reread the word three times before it clicked in his mind. The shirt read 'Daddy's Little Princess'.

"Breakfast?" Geoff took no notice at the pancakes in the pink haired girl's hands. It didn't matter that they were top with enough berries to make him never want to touch Awsten's fruit ever again or the fact that there was enough powdered sugar to make him diabetic. All that mattered was he was the only fully dressed person in the room and he was feeling more uncomfortable by the second. It didn't take a genius to realize what happened. Geoff had slept with both of them.

"Yeah. We made you breakfast." Chloe led the trio back into the bedroom with confidence. Geoff thought that the apartment might've been her's because of that but he wasn't sure anymore. He wasn't sure of a lot of things. It looked like it would've belonged to her much more than the pink haired self proclaimed princess. Chloe might've been handing Geoff the plate of pancakes but he was practically having an out of body experience. His eyes was bruised, his lip was split and he slept with two girls that made him breakfast. He had only been alive for a few weeks again and his second life was already way better than his first one had ever been. His stomach bubbled with mixed feelings.

"Figured you'd be tired out from last night." The pink haired girl was practically purring at him, laying her head on Geoff's shoulder. If he had to guess, he was pretty sure she could go for a second round and if things were different, maybe he would have been too. It wasn't that she wasn't cute because she was. Geoff sort of thought that she looked like a doll almost with her pale skin and big eyes. She still somehow had a flawless face of makeup on, more than likely sleeping with it on. Unlike the other girl, Chloe's face was entirely bare.

"Everything hurts." Geoff admitted, taking a bite of the pancakes in front of him. They tasted a bit unusual for the typical breakfast food. He recalled Chloe mentioning not only was she vegan but also had a gluten allergy. He took a second bite and tried to ignore the slight taste of blood in his mouth in favor of the undertone of banana in the pancakes. Geoff had a lot of questions for the two girls but didn't want to give off the impression that he didn't recall the encounter.

"Did you want some ibuprofen? Grace and I took some before we made breakfast." Grace. Her name was Grace. Geoff wished that sparked some form of memory in his mind but it didn't. He was sort of hoping that he would get some memories from the night before that would explain everything that brought him here so he wouldn't outright have to ask. Geoff had an idea.

"Yeah, that'd be great. My head is killing me. I haven't been that drunk in a while." Admitting to being very drunk was as if he was admitting to not remembering anything from last night. All he could hope was that one of the two girls picked up on this subtle hint and explain his actions from the night before to them. Chloe tossed the small white pill bottle beside Geoff with a laugh. "What?"

"You don't remember anything." Chloe deadpanned. The brown haired boy in her bed was practically transparent. She was right but Geoff was seriously wishing she hadn't said it out loud. He wasn't that great of a liar so his options were limited. His mouth opened slightly but no sounds came, causing both the girls to enter a fit of laughter. Their laughs complimented each other like harmonies in one of Geoff's favorite songs. Suddenly, he was really regretting being drunk for their threesome.

"Can I tell him?" Geoff was seriously hoping that the pink haired girl was of age. The last thing he wanted to do was to be fucking a minor while he was intoxicated. She seemed very childish both in how she spoke and how she looked. He really hadn't hope he had committed any crimes in his drunken stupidity. He instantly was dreading how to tell Awsten that he had found one of his soulmates without him. He imagined the conversation in his head but shook it from his thoughts. He couldn't tell Awsten he fucked somebody he could've been spending the rest of his life with. "Please please please!"

"Please do." Chloe expended a glass of water to Geoff with a smile on her face. She didn't really think her night would've gone that way but she wasn't bothered by it. The three of them were all pretty drunk but she didn't think any of them were blackout drunk. Between her and Grace, the two of them were able to piece together the majority of the night. "Give this one some context for his temporary tattoos." Geoff took the water and quickly swallowed two of the light orange pills. The relief couldn't come fast enough for him. Neither could the truth.

**********

Geoff was trying his hardest to focus on the gorgeous girl in front of him but it wasn't as easy as it should have been. The room was spinning or maybe it was his head. If that wasn't bad enough, there was a couple in a booth across the bar that seemed to be fighting. The girl was petite with pink hair and she was screaming at the top of her lungs at a guy that looked like he could've been twice her size easily. As loud as her shrieks were, they stood no match for the voice that was coming out of the man's mouth. Geoff was wondering how none of the staff had kicked the pair out of the place yet.

Chloe had been telling Geoff a story but somewhere along the line, his attention wandered to the couple. If Chloe noticed, she didn't seem to let on. Geoff didn't know the girl with pink hair but he was worried about her safety. The guy she was sitting with had tried to touch her a few times in a possible attempt to calm her down but with no luck. When she raised her voice this him, his hand flew to her wrist and gripped her tightly.

Geoff didn't know what he was doing anymore. He could hear Chloe calling him, probably yelling as loud as the couple had been yelling but he couldn't form a response to her. Before he could figure out what was happening, he was on the other side of the bar. He had lost control of his mind a drink ago but now he was in a situation much worse. He wasn't in control of his body anymore. He approached the couple strangely calm regardless of the shouting between the two.

"We're leaving Grace." The man had risen to his feet and Geoff was right, this guy was huge. He was taller than he was by a good few inches. His eyes locked onto the pink haired girl, his brain not registering her name as the one spoken only seconds earlier. He instead eyed the tight grip the man had on her wrist. Surely, it would leave some kind of bruise on the pale girl. His eyes darted up to her face, noticing she was wearing a full face of makeup. Geoff usually didn't like dramatic makeup on women but the look suited her none the less. When his eyes glanced down this time, he noticed a collar around her neck. He was too far away to read the writing but it interested him all the same.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Grace spat at the other individual, trying to tug herself free from the monstrosity she was supposedly dating. She always had the worst luck with partners. Her friends often described her as a bad judge of character but she was pretty sure that was just part of her reckless behavior. It was something she hated about herself yet she was stuck in a spiral of poor choice after poor choice. This was merely one in the series of bad choices that would be the rest of her life. She needed an intervention for her spontaneousness sooner rather than later.

"I didn't ask you." He was working his way towards the exit, loud girl in hand. She was obviously struggling to get away from the monster that insisted on dragging her around like a pet instead of a person. The bar was decently busy and yet nobody else seemed to be concerned for the pink haired girl who was practically pleading for someone to stop the situation from escalating any further than it had already.

"She doesn't want to go with you." Geoff was close enough to the pair at this point to say something. He was blocking the only exit to the establishment, something he hadn't done intentionally. He would've been a much better help if he wasn't already intoxicated but some help was still better than nothing at all. Geoff noticed she was much prettier up close. She reminded him of one of those Monster High dolls that his nieces used to play with. He wondered if they still played with him and felt a sting in his chest he wouldn't remember in the morning. He hadn't called his family yet.

"She doesn't know what she wants." Even in a sober state, Geoff wasn't sure that he would've been able to understand the idiocy of speaking on behalf of another person. The only person who could have any clue at all about what Grace could've wanted would be Grace herself. It didn't matter that Geoff was shorter than the man in front of him, he was positive he was heavier. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to fight the other guy. He hadn't ever been in a fight before and was pretty positive if push came to shove that he would be the loser.

"Let me go you fucking asshole." Her voice fit her vaguely nymphet appearance. He couldn't tell if she was a teenager with a fake ID or just a baby face. He was leaning towards the idea of her being a teenage girl. She wore a pastel pink tennis skirt and a light purple crop top that spelled out something Geoff couldn't make sense of in his state. It wasn't the only thing on her chest he had missed that night. He also seemed to not take note of the tiny grey heart on the left side of her chest.

"Let go of her." If Geoff hadn't had any alcohol, there wouldn't have been a chance in hell that he would've involved himself with the situation. Had Geoff been sober, he probably wouldn't have had the nerve to even think about coming over. His sober self would've watched in pain as Grace was tugged out of the bar to god knows where to do god knows what. Perhaps there was a plus side to being intoxicated after all.

"And what if I don't?" The man practically taunted the two of them with his words. Geoff made a promise in that moment, not only to himself but to Grace. He wouldn't let any harm come to her tonight or ever again. He didn't know then that it would be a promise he would forget the following day but still somehow honor for the remainder of his days of his life.

"I didn't ask you." Geoff smirked cockily, deflecting the man's poor excuse for a rebuttal back at him. Geoff didn't notice Chloe getting increasingly worried, looking back at the three of them. In her gut, she felt something bad was going to happen. Her first instinct was to jump to her feet and try and diffuse the problem that was happening before her eyes. Her feet felt like lead. She was trapped in the boot she sat in, watching the scene fold out in front of her like a bad horror movie. All she could do was hope that nobody got hurt but deep down, she knew she was lying to herself.

"You don't want to mess with me kid." There was no way that the other guy was older than Geoff. Geoff might've died when he was twenty-six the first time around but in this timeline, he was twenty-nine. It was a thought that almost terrified him. He would be turning thirty no matter what happened before he died this time around. It was never a birthday he saw himself making it to. The man looked to be twenty-five at best. It was likely that he mistook Geoff for younger than he was which was something he was far too used to. He often got carded when he went out for a drink.

"Leave him out of this Eric." Grace was in no position to be making demands and a part of her knew that. The grip on her wrist tightened, causing a yelp to come out of her mouth. She had no doubts that come tomorrow, she would have an ugly purple mark across her wrist. It was like a very ugly bracelet or temporary tattoo. Usually similar marks were given to her under happier circumstances. It wasn't the first time her and her partner had gotten into a screaming match in public but this had been the first time someone was stupid enough to get involved. She was fine with being on the receiving end of the blows as long as nobody else had to be.

"You're not leaving with her." Geoff insisted, taking a step towards the couple. He made the mistake of looking up at the other boy. Anyone with a set of eyes would've been able to tell that this fight was already lost. The other person was taller and probably much stronger than Geoff. If the scars were any indication of the amount of fights he had been in, he beat Geoff in that area as well. Geoff was too drunk to remember the other guys name. He was too drunk to have any sense of fear. The room had stopped spinning but his sense of judgement was nowhere to be found. Gone were his anxieties. Maybe if he was lucky, they would never come back.

"What are you going to do about it?" Geoff hadn't the slightest clue. He was kind of just hoping he could talk his way out of the situation. He had never been in a fight before and hadn't really intended to break his streak now. Had Awsten been in a fight before? Geoff thought that he might've but doubted he won all too much. He was too tiny and Geoff was pretty sure he could fling him over his shoulder if he had to. "Sit on me?" The jab stung but the feeling was nothing compared to what he felt bubble in his chest. Pure rage.

"Come on fatty." When Geoff was alive the first time around, he had anger issues. His parents realized this at a young age when he would curl his hands into fists at his sides and start to shake out of rage. As a teenager, he would often have fits of intense anger and punch holes in the walls. Somewhere along the line, his dad stopped trying to fix them. Whenever he would, another would appear just a couple days later. Geoff was constantly paranoid about hurting someone he loved. He had a side of himself that he refused to share with the rest of the world. "What's going to happen? You're gonna eat me."

He wasn't in control of his actions anymore. He lunged towards the taller boy and threw the first punch. His fist connected with the boys shoulder and hurt him much more than Eric. The lack of pain didn't stop Eric from throwing a punch back at Geoff. It collided with his mouth, busting open his bottom lip. The vague taste of metal entered his mouth but he paid it no mind, landing a punch instead on Eric's right eye. The other boy cursed and ran at Geoff, knocking the two of them and a nearby table to the floor.

"Eric!" His punches kept flying into the other man's gut. His lip was fucking killing him. Eric had him pinned for a few moments, throwing swing after swing at Geoff. He landed one on his eye and smirked, knowing that the other boy would have a bruise. He didn't have a doubt in his mind. "Eric! Stop!"

"Geoff!" It didn't matter how much Chloe was screaming for him to stop. His confidence allowed Geoff to flip the two of them over, forcing himself on top of the stranger. Geoff wasn't aware of his actions anymore. He was like a video game character being controlled by a player; throwing punch after punch at Eric without any regard for what was happening. Every now and then, Eric would land a punch on his ribs. "Geoff! Get off him!"

A set of arms pulled the two men off of each other. Before Geoff could defend his drunken stupidity, Chloe informed the bouncer that they were just on their way out. She apologized for Geoff, shooting the bouncer a look of sincerity. She grabbed the boy's hand despite his grumbling protests that he could've won the rest of the fight. In her other hand, she held the hand of the pink haired girl. She led the pair out of the bar, leaving the bouncer to deal with the other half of her hectic evening.

"Where are you taking me?" Grace wasn't all that concerned but more so curious. In her eighteen years of life, she had gotten into some pretty shady situations with some rather risky people. She eyed the girl with the ombre hair who still had her hand pressed against hers. She was warm to the touch but that wasn't saying much since the younger girl was always cold for some reason. It didn't help that the sun had set hours ago and she was wearing a skirt with a crop top in the fall. Goosebumps were starting to develop where the stockings met the tops of her thighs. The breeze would have been described as bone chilling by her mother. Too bad she wasn't around anymore.

"I won." Geoff was mostly muttering to himself in his drunken state. He had convinced himself that he won the battle exclusively based off of the fact he was able to get Grace away from what he could only imagine was a tinder date gone wrong. It didn't matter that his eye was on the verge of swelling shut or that his lip hurt him almost as bad as being hit by a car all those years ago. She was safe and that was a victory within itself. "I'm the greatest. I won."

"Does it matter?" Chloe hadn't let go of either of their hands. She didn't trust Geoff to run off and she wasn't exactly sure that Grace could be trusted to stay away from the man she was rescued from. She looked at Geoff, trying to gauge the severity of his injuries. None of them seemed bad enough to take him to a hospital, thankfully. She wasn't sure what sort of insurance the boy had anyways. An ice pack and some Neosporin would do the trick just fine. She was glad she had chosen the location she had; her apartment was only a few blocks away from the bar. "Anywhere is better than back there."

"You're right." Her mother died three months ago and five years before that, her father left. Losing her mother felt like Grace was losing a peace of herself. Her mother was the one bit of sanity she had, holding herself together. When she passed away on that day in late June, Grace drank to numb the pain. She hadn't stopped since. She didn't want to think about what was going to happen to the house or her plans for college or her mother's debts. She wanted time to stand still. She wanted a moment to catch her breath and think about it. "I just don't feel great going somewhere with two strangers."

"I won, right?" For being an absolute amateur, Geoff did a decent amount of damage to the other guy. He got in a few key shots to his face and although he wasn't aware of it, broke the dark haired boy's nose. Sure, Geoff's blocking probably could have used some work given the damage done to him. The majority of the worst injuries were on his face although a decent amount of bruising would surface on his torso over the next few days. Maybe Street Fighter wasn't such a bad teacher after all. "I won?"

"Yeah, you did bud." Chloe was almost as drunk as Geoff yet still took on a motherly role, taking care of the two other people to the best of her abilities. She wasn't sure what to make of Grace. The bubblegum haired girl had a childlike innocence that didn't belong in a bar setting. She had a collar around her neck indicating that she either had an interest in alternative fashion or was into some form of BDSM or pet-play. Either way, she fit perfectly into the pair. A wild card like the two of them would do just fine.

"You made him mad is what you did." Grace's tone was laced with worry, not just for herself but for the two kind strangers who helped her out of an awful situation. It wasn't the first time she had seen Eric that angry but it was the first time anyone was foolish enough to get in his way. Geoff and Chloe seemed nice enough but she detected something between the two. A chemistry flowed between them, unable to be seen by the human eye. She was positive that if her friend Otto was around, he would've commented something about their energies or chakaras.

"It was worth it to keep you safe." Geoff had a thing about saving people. He always wanted to be a knight in shining armor; a feat he could never pull off when he was sober. He didn't have the balls to insert himself into dangerous situations and he didn't have the nerve to tell people off. Alcohol gave him something he desperately needed; an escape. Nothing he did while he was intoxicated felt real. His actions had no consequence. He could beat up the bad guys and get the girl without having to worry about what happened after the credits rolled.

"Somehow you're still a smooth talker when when you got the shit kicked out of you." Chloe snorted at her own remark although the comment earned a giggle from the girl holding her hand. Grace would've been the kind of girl she would've had a crush on in high school. Chloe had a thing for feminine women to say the least. Every one of her previous girlfriends could've all easily shared the title of pastel princess. It was when Chloe entered college that she realized these girls weren't the best in relationships or bed and tried to give up on her attraction to the fatal femmes. "File this under one of my most interesting first dates."

"I said I was full of surprises." Geoff mumbled, rubbing his swollen eye with his free hand. He was starting to notice his vision was a little blurry in his injured eye and blinked a few times to try and fix it. The majority of the blurred vision left but the pain remained all the same. Chloe tugged on his other hand in an attempt to get him to stop irritating his injury with a surprising amount of force. She was without a doubt successful in her mission. "And I won!"

"Did I interrupt your date?" Grace had thought the pair were friends when she noticed them across the bar. She noticed the girl twirling her hair and laughing loudly at whatever the brown haired boy was saying. She sort of thought that it was possible that the girl had a crush on him but boy, was the girl clueless. It was obvious based on Geoff's body language that he wasn't feeling her to the intensity she was interested in him. Maybe she had read the situation wrong or maybe there wasn't an alcohol strong enough to make him want her the way he wanted someone else. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine." Chloe wished she was of more help. If she had gotten control of her emotions and her heart didn't feel like it was going to leap right out of her chest, maybe it would've been possible to help Geoff. If she was able to walk over to the interaction before the first punch was thrown, it might've been possible to talk the two down from the altercation. She winced when she looked over at Geoff's eye, feeling more guilty than anything else. "You needed an out and we were there. I'm just glad somebody was."

"I just want you to be okay." Geoff meant what he had said like he often did. Despite all of his injuries, he was glad that Grace left with little to no damage. A small bruise was forming around her wrist but he had expected that already. He was just glad that he was the one on the receiving end of the punches and not Grace. He wasn't sure that a girl that tiny would be able to take all of them and still be breathing. He was grateful more than anything that he could have been there for her.

"You're such a gentleman." Grace wasn't used to men treating her this kindly. She had entered the BDSM scene at the young age of fifteen which had attracted nothing but problems. Any decent dominant wouldn't come within a mile of her but that didn't stop an array of interesting characters to enter her life. The majority of them were mentally unstable men who found some sick pleasure in hurting an underage girl. Abusive was a word that her friends had originally thrown around back when she had friends. After an encounter with a less than perfect daddy dom, she was cut off from all of her friends. "I guess I sure know how to pick them, huh?"

"You made a mistake. A lapse in judgement. We all do it." Chloe wasn't fully aware of what the younger girl had been through but if it was anything like tonight, she knew that she didn't deserve it. Chloe didn't need any context behind the fight at the bar or what Grace was screaming about. The pink haired girl was being physically restrained in a public place without consent and begging to be freed. There was no situation where she would have been in the wrong in Chloe's eyes.

"It's okay to fuck up as long as you learn from it." Geoff's mind wandered to all the times he had fucked up with Awsten but one stuck out more than the rest. It was before he had gotten his phone and they had started their bad day texting. Awsten had come home with tears streaming down his face, giving him a glow on his cheeks. Geoff had hopped up and tried to comfort the boy with a hug only for Awsten to lock himself in his room. Instead of beating on the door and getting Awsten to let him in to talk things out, he sighed to himself and sat down on the couch. It was one of the things he wished he could change. He wished he could change a lot about his own life. He was given a second chance to live again. This time, he would live his life how he was supposed to; how he wanted.

"And there goes my poetic Geoff." Chloe had grown accustomed to his articulate nature over the evening so the blunt remark shattered the allusion her mind had formed. It was her own fault for idealizing the people around her, one of her nasty habits. Like most of her habits, they ended up hurting herself more than the people around her. She didn't deserve the cruelty from the world but it changed nothing. The world would still spin despite her hardships.

"I'm Geoff." He giggled more to himself than to either of the two girls. His head was still spinning, making him feel a little dizzy. Other than that, Geoff had never felt happier in his entire life. He had taken on a villain, saved a princess and lived to tell the tale. On top of all of that, his date was holding his hand which was something he had wanted to do since the beginning of the night. Her hands were softer than he had expected. They were much softer than Awsten's, probably because the girl with ombre hair didn't play guitar. Awsten's calluses weren't as obvious as most musician's but it was still a noticeable difference.

"I know." The younger girl giggled at the obvious statement. Geoff wasn't usually the type of guy that Grace was attracted to. She tend to have a preference to muscular men that were much taller than her. Geoff had only one of those things but he had a charm to him. He was charismatic and somehow still looked cute with a split lip, which wasn't an easy thing. His bright blue eyes and long shaggy hair only strengthened her attraction to the older boy. He still fit her base requirement; if her parents were still around, they would hate him. "I'm Grace."

"I know. I can't speak for him though." Chloe was drunk but arguably more sober than Geoff. Of the three of them, Grace had probably drank the least. She was buzzed but nowhere close to being drunk. She hadn't trusted herself with the person she was with to get drunk. Grace's alcohol tolerance had increased a lot over the last few months. Drinking a bottle of liquor a day would do that to a person. "I'm out of it but he's more far gone than I am."

"I've never babysat two drunks before." The closest Grace had ever come to something like that was a couple months before her dad had left. When he was around, her father would go through a case of beer a night and do a couple lines. It started when she was younger, maybe six or seven but the intensity was much lower. A case had started with a bottle and then two and before anyone had taken much notice, it became a case. The weed he had smoked for his pain was replaced with prescription drugs and later cocaine.

"First time for everything." Her father often acted different when on the substances. There had been a handful of times her father had tried to touch her inappropriately. After the first time, she began to hide a blade under her skirt on her outer thigh. Each time after that had ended with her father's hand gushing blood on the living room floor. Her mother questioned the blood staining the carpet at first but when she found out about what had been happening, she aimed her shotgun at her husband and insisted he leave. He didn't argue with her. Grace had never seen him again but still wore the blade on her right thigh, just in case.

"She's Chloe. She's hard on the outside according to Awsten but soft on the inside according to me. She's like an M&M." Awsten had constantly tried to show Geoff the side of Chloe he had seen in Forever 21 all those days ago. He had seen her on a bad day in one of her worst moods. The usually independent and level-headed sales clerk seemed almost delusional and enraged. There was something about Awsten that got on her nerves and unfortunately for Chloe, that feeling went both ways. "The green one. The green one was the hot one."

"Who's Awsten?" Grace wasn't a part of their world and up until recently, Chloe and Geoff's worlds had yet to collide. Geoff had been dead the last three years and all so technically all of this second life thing was still pretty new for him. Grace was unaware how recently the pair had met. Their banter was consistent and the connection lead her to believe they had been friends for a few years at the very least.

"He's his asshole roommate who's got like a power complex over him or something." Chloe was still trying to figure out the relationship between Geoff and Awsten. Awsten was weirdly protective over Geoff and felt the need to micromanage every aspect of his being. Geoff was constantly defending Awsten's behavior and taking care of the boy constantly. When Chloe had connected with Geoff on the day they met, Awsten was obviously jealous. None of it made sense to her. There was something going on behind the scenes but she couldn't place her finger on it."I don't get it entirely."

"He's my roommate who really likes clothes and blonde girls and not me I think." Geoff had wished that Awsten came with an introduction sequence. He wanted to see the purple haired boy in slow motion, setting a bouquet of sunflowers on his grave. He didn't want to have to hear Awsten tell him that his last name was Knight or that Guess was his favorite clothing brand. He wanted to have all that information wired straight into his brain from the moment he saw him. He wanted more than anything to get a strange little cut-scene of Awsten's past to play in his head like a home movie playing just for him. If he had something like that, maybe Awsten would like him.

"He doesn't like you?" Grace thought that it was an interesting situation. Weren't you supposed to live with someone you liked? She was currently living with one of her friend's. Grace was an only child so once her mother had passed away, it only made sense for her to find a new living situation while the details were worked out with her mother's property. She had to go see her lawyer tomorrow but she couldn't be bothered to remember what time. She was more interested in hearing Geoff's low voice tell her more about this Awsten person.

"No." It wasn't so much that Awsten didn't like him; the heart on his chest proved otherwise. It was a honey color that proved that they had become friends since they had met. Geoff's stomach just did flips around the other boy and he often was envious of Ciara working with him. Was it possible he had a crush? He thought about that question often but he regularly chalked it up to his loneliness. Geoff was more honest than usual when he was drunk."It makes me hurt right here." Geoff pointed to the yellow heart on his chest, forgetting that the two girls couldn't see the honey colored spot.

"If he doesn't like you, why do you guys live together?" It hadn't made sense to Chloe in the slightest. The pairing seemed like an odd mixture, like peanut butter and pickles. On one hand, you had a loud and obnoxious boy with purple hair and a power complex. On the other, you had a sweet and shy boy with brown hair and a love of video games. They were opposites and she failed to see how they were supposed to attract. It was a concept she struggled with since she was younger. Opposites didn't attract in her mind. Chloe would've been content with nothing more than a partner that was just like her.

"It's complicated." Complicated was an understatement. Awsten was on a date with a girl that was incredibly out of his league, which struck Geoff as strange. He was on a date with a girl that was out of his league too, which was just as weird. What was even more odd was that at the time, both boys would've rather been with each other instead of with their dates. Neither of them also knew that their dates knew each other to add to the insanity. "He likes pretty girls and coffee and not me or the game."

"What game?" Grace was curious at Geoff's slip up. He had yet to mention the game to anyone other than Awsten, unsure if that act would count as cheating or an immediate disqualification. He didn't want to take any chances so he had kept his mouth shut on the subject until this point. He wasn't aware of his mistake. He wasn't even sure where he was anymore. He just wanted to go home and see Awsten but that wasn't possible. Awsten was at some sorority party with Michaela, probably kissing her. The thought made Geoff want to walk into oncoming traffic.

"It's a love game." The words fell past Geoff's lips with ease, not realizing the consequences of his actions. The trio had entered the lobby to Chloe's hotel and the blonde swiped her keys against the grey plate to open the door for them. Geoff hadn't realized it until he felt slightly warmed. Chloe led the two towards a set of sterling silver elevators. Geoff saw his reflection for the first time and couldn't believe the sight in front of him. Was that actually what he looked like? "The rules suck because Awsten can have ten people and I get to have no one." This detail struck both the girls as interesting. Grace looked Chloe up and down slowly and shot her a smile. They shared a knowing glance.

"What if we change the rules of the game?" Chloe hit the up arrow on the wall, summoning an elevator to come and get the three drunk adults. The two girls had taken Geoff's words out of context. At face value, the phrase held an entirely different meaning and Geoff had yet to catch on to his mistake. It wasn't like he could correct the two of them anyways. He couldn't tell the two girls about whatever had happened to him, he was positive neither of them would believe his story.

"What do you mean?" Geoff wasn't following along with what the girls had in mind. He looked between the two of them in the reflection of the silver doors. Beside him stood a blonde girl that could've easily been described as goth. Her combat boots made her tower over the girl beside her. The shorter girl was like an emo Barbie doll, complete with removable stockings. The elevator doors parted, allowing the reflection of the three of them to disappear. They were gorgeous in completely different ways. Geoff would have been lucky to have one of them and couldn't imagine the concept of having two.

"What she's trying to say is one on one is no fun." Grace giggled softly, grabbing Geoff's other hand and pulling the other two into the elevator with her. Chloe hit the shiny small button with a number seven on. When she turned back around, she saw a sight she was hoping could wait until the three had entered her apartment. Grace had her lips against Geoff's, pressing the brown haired boy against the wall of the elevator. Their adventure was nowhere close to being over.


	7. I Was Kind Of Hoping You’d Stay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late! I know I usually update every two weeks but I’ve been busy with work. To make up for it, I made this one an extra long one.

"Okay but what happened after the sex?" Awsten wasn't all that curious about the details of the deed. He didn't exactly want to hear about his roommate plowing two hot girls, it kind of made him feel bad for himself. It wasn't fair. Geoff wasn't even the sort of guy who wanted a threesome, let alone was able to appreciate such a feat. Geoff couldn't even remember it for Christ's sake! Awsten especially didn't want to think about Geoff's face or the sounds coming out of his mouth while everything was happening. He didn't.

"Awsten!" Geoff's face was flushed a shade that resembled that of an overripe watermelon. He wasn't one of those guys to speak about his sex life and he was even less likely to talk about it in such a public setting. He was convinced that the waitress would be coming up at any moment to top up both of their drinks. There were children a couple tables over having breakfast with their parents! He wasn't about to talk all the dirty things Grace and Chloe said he had done, which was a lot apparently.

"Sorry, the threesome." Awsten smiled cheekily at his roommate, interested in the story almost as much as his breakfast. That was a difficult task because this restaurant was clearly a hidden gem. Awsten was convinced that the pancakes could've been made into clouds. They were much lighter and more fluffy than anything his mom had ever made. He was starting to get full but decided that he could probably polish off another plate of perfection. "What? I want to know what happened after she told you about your bar fight and night of magic." He wiggled his dark brows at the boy across from him and was met with a scoff.

"Can we please not call it a bar fight?" Geoff couldn't look at the boy any longer. He didn't want to tell the rest of his story; he hadn't wanted to tell it in the first place. He was far more interested in Awsten's night and why he had gotten one of their infamous bad day texts. It was supposed to be one of the best days of Awsten's life, not one of the worst. Geoff had so many questions but before he could get answers, he had to recount his evening. He would've rather disappeared. "I like to think of it as rescuing a pretty girl."

"You can call it whatever you want but you've still got a shiner." Awsten was waving his fork at Geoff, trying and failing to sell him on his point. He was right though, Geoff's eye looked much worse now that some time had passed. He was lucky to still be able to see out of his eyes. It still hurt to the touch but thankfully it wasn't an area that came in contact too much. The ache on his lip injury was much worse and the salt from his french fries wasn't helping. Every bite would burn but it didn't stop Geoff from eating the fried potatoes.

"It won't be gone by work but I figure Michaela's go-"

"Don't say that name around me." Awsten covered his ears with his hands, fork still in his right one. He looked at Geoff seriously regardless of his childish position. Whatever had happened the night before made the other boy not want to even hear the name of the person he was on a date with less than fourteen hours ago. It had to have been something major for Awsten to have such a change of heart. A mere twenty-four hours ago he couldn't shut up about the blonde haired girl and now he didn't even want to remember her existence.

"Sorry. Voldemort might let me borrow her concealer or something." Geoff was hoping that whatever had happened between the two of them wasn't big enough for Michaela to hate him by association. He didn't think Michaela was that petty or held that much of a grudge against people but then again, he hadn't known her as well as he could have. He wasn't looking forward to having to explain his injury to all of his coworkers. His stomach lurked at all the questions and the possibility of his threesome coming into conversation. Would Awsten still visit him at work? He hoped so.

"Who's Voldemort?" Awsten scrunched up his nose at the foreign word on his tongue. It sounded like a disease that an old person would die from or something. For someone so young, he was incredibly out of touch with some aspects of pop culture. In the areas he lacked, Geoff seemed pretty knowledgeable up until the year he died originally. The name sounded vaguely familiar when Geoff said it but with Awsten's clear mispronunciation didn't help his confusion.

"You know, from Harry Potter?" Geoff snickered, praying that Awsten wasn't for real. Seriously, who didn't know about Voldemort? He was positive that he was one of the most recognizable and iconic villains of the fantasy genre. His interesting appearance clashed with Michaela's to say the least, making the name the perfect joke. It flew over Awsten's head.

"Never read it." Awsten shrugged, not ashamed of his admission of guilt. He was a nerd in high school by physical definition, not mental. Inside of playing Magic the Gathering, playing video games during lunch or binge reading Harry Potter, he spent all of his time with his guitar and two best friends. Two best friends he had been meaning to introduce Geoff too. Whatever. A year isn't that short, he had time. "Or saw the movies. Fuck magic. That shit is scary."

"It's about a twelve year old at a magic school." Geoff was the exact opposite. The entirety of his high school career was dominated by video games. It got to the point where he almost didn't graduate because of The Legend of Zelda. The taller boy practically dropped out of school because of the game, making his dad a weird mixture of anger and understanding. It was scary. "It's not scary."

"I don't fuck with anything supernatural anymore." Awsten didn't mess with the supernatural but not for the reasons most people would have. He wasn't smart enough to know better, at least not at first. In his teens, him and his friends used to love playing with Ouija boards and trying out all spooky kinds of games. There had been a few times that the trio had even accidentally summoned a ghost. After Travis had been possessed for two minutes by what they could only assume was an evil spirit, the three of them agreed to stop. "Sorry, not all of us are nerds."

"I still want to know what happened between you and Voldemort." Geoff teased carefully, trying not to cross any boundaries. Awsten's face fell. He was a little unpredictable in that sense. The purple haired boy could poke fun at everyone but came to be a bit more sensitive when it came to others joking about his own flaws. Speaking of sensitive, the sting in Geoff's lower lip was becoming too powerful to ignore. He pushed his plate of fries towards his roommate, silently offering it to him. Awsten's face lit up at the gesture, shoving a handful of fries into his mouth.

"And I want to know what happened between the three of you the morning after so spill."

**********

"And then we came back here." Grace explained, letting out a tiny yawn. She had only woken up about half an hour prior to making pancakes with the other girl. The sound of a toilet flushing wasn't the greatest alarm clock but she wasn't too upset. The bed was comfy and was big enough for all three of them. It probably helped that she woke up with one of Geoff's arms around her and her head laying on his chest. "Unless you want details about that too."

"I-I'm fine." Geoff still couldn't believe what had happened. Between the fight and the three-way, he was positive that the alcohol had come into play. His body ached; a mixture between beatings of both love and hate. He hadn't noticed the hickeys on his inside of inside of his thighs when he was putting on his boxers or the ones on his neck when he slid his shirt back on. His body was painted in various shades of purple but he was instead focused on the pounding in his head.

"It's not like you remember that either." Chloe had assumed that he wouldn't remember the intimate aspect of their night if he couldn't remember his altercation. It was a shame, really. It was one of Chloe's best experiences but it was fuzzy in her mind. She had a vague recollection until she had spoken to Grace and exchanged details about the hookup. Grace too said it was one of her better moments. "What's the difference? You can't tell me you aren't a little curious."

"Your face says everything." Grace's comment was correct. The heat had risen to Geoff's cheeks, tainting him a ruby color. He looked down at his lap and focused on eating the remaining berries on his plate. He had finished the pancakes during Grace's epic tale of the night before. Popping the blueberry in his mouth reminded him of his roommate. He had to see Awsten. He would be able to help him make sense of the sticky situation he had gotten himself into. "You're right. He totally is precious."

"You called me precious?" Geoff might as well of been a cactus at that point because the two of them were talking about him like he wasn't even there. Everything they were saying was nice and everything but it didn't stop him from feeling excluded; a polar opposite from the night before. Geoff had been described as precious before along with a handful of other cute phrases before. He got compared to a puppy often and it was something he had gotten used to.

"Right? He's like a puppy." He knew it was only a matter of time before Chloe uttered the overplayed compliment. The two-toned blonde still smiled like it was an original thought although it was more in regards to Grace finally starting to open up to the two of them. It wasn't so much that she was closed off before but hesitant to get close to either of them emotionally. Physically was a completely different story.

"More like a rabbit." Grace giggled at her comment referencing the night before and Chloe followed suit. It was one of the more interesting things had every done. She had never been a part of a threesome before. Having the experience under her belt made her feel older somehow; more mature sexually. She was glad she exchanged numbers with the duo the night before even if she wasn't sure they would be as willing to do what happened the night before sober. Either way, she thought they were both interesting enough to see again. Even if it was just to get a coffee instead of getting eaten out.

"If you guys are going to keep joking about last night, I'm gonna leave." Geoff sighed, knowing that he wouldn't actually do anything like that. He was too polite to just storm out of Chloe's apartment, especially after they had been nice enough to make him breakfast. Breakfast was a luxury that didn't exist at Awsten's for the most part. Awsten would make some egg white omelette that tasted vaguely like chalk the one time he had eaten it. Since then, breakfast had more or less just become Geoff eating whatever leftovers from his work he had taken home during the last closing shift he had. If he hadn't closed recently, breakfast consisted of whatever food of Awsten's could be taken without being caught. "Just promise me I didn't do anything weird."

"Define weird." As if she was reading his mind somehow, Chloe lifted the plate off of his lap and set it on her end table. She was good at making the majority of breakfast food although pancakes were ultimately her specialty. When Grace had expressed a desire for pancakes, she was happy to oblige the other girl. During the process they discussed the dye Grace had used for her hair (Manic Panic), if she was in school (she wasn't) and who that guy was last night (her dom, apparently).

"He looks vanilla, so I'd say just about everything we did." Grace was in the process of checking her phone when she noticed her daddy dom had texted her the night before. It contained an apology for his aggressive behavior and a promise that it wouldn't happen again. This was a text that Grace had been on the receiving end far too many times. She could realize the pattern and it was time for her to break it. She replied to him telling her not to contact her again and to not come into her work anymore or security would escort him out.

"Vanilla?" Geoff wasn't trying to look at Grace's phone because he didn't feel like what went on in her personal life was any of his business. When he turned to look at her, he couldn't help but feel his eyes drawn to the glow of her phone screen. His eyes landed on the phrase that described the potential of security escorting him out of her work. His mind wandered to where she could've worked where she would have been so protected but was happy she had some form of constant protection.

"Oh god, he's so vanilla." Grace joked, setting her phone on the table beside her. She hadn't noticed Geoff peaking at her texts but wouldn't have cared either way. She was pretty transparent about her life and what she did for a living. If Chloe had asked her, she would've spoken about it but the conversation had never come up. "You tell him. I already told him about the fight."

"It wasn't anything too wild." Chloe's definition of wild differed incredibly from that of Geoff's. Chloe was very open with her sexuality and was open to try almost anything under the right circumstances. Geoff was more on the softer side of things and had more boundaries. He had been more open while he was under the influence and had experienced a lot of things he enjoyed based on the night before. "I'd say the most out there thing we did was pegging."

"Pegging?" Geoff was totally lost. He had no idea what pegging was or what it entailed. It might've been for the best but the two girls shared a look with one another causing both of their faces to light up. Not only were they going to recap the night in full detail but they now had the added bonus of telling Geoff about all of his sexual conquests.

"You also really liked being called daddy." Geoff felt his dick practically twitch at the word coming out of the older teen. Luckily, neither of the two girls had seemed to noticed. He should have expected this between the text on her shirt and the collar around her neck. Geoff just didn't know that he liked being called that. It wasn't something he ever had the intention of exploring. "You said it was hot."

"D-daddy?" Geoff stumbled on the word, face turning red once again. He couldn't look either of the girls in the eye at this point. He was far too embarrassed with what had happened the night before. He had no idea how he was supposed to face Chloe again after this encounter. He didn't even want to think about how he was supposed to tell Awsten about Grace. There wasn't a casual way to say he had a threesome with a girl that might be his soulmate.

"There was also the spanking." Chloe had recalled that from her own memory. It was one of the things she had to remind Grace of actually. The majority of the night was retold to her from Grace, who was somehow the most sober regardless of the fake she was underage in a bar. Chloe was just counting her blessings that Grace was eighteen and not a couple months younger. "The handcuffs, the anal, the rimjobs."

"R-rimjobs?" Geoff hadn't the slightest idea what a rimjob was or what it consisted of. He had heard the word thrown around a bit online and didn't have the desire to google it. That was the situation with most of the sexually taboo things he happened to stumble on. It only took a couple of searches of some terms to turn him off of the idea entirely. From a young age, he made a silent deal with himself to never google such things again. It only lead to disgust and shock.

"Don't forget the bondage." Grace grinned, recalling the memory with ease. It was one of the ones that had stuck out to her more than the rest. Bondage and pegging seemed to be the things she recalled the most from the evening they all had shared. Geoff's reactions to the revelation from the night before were practically comical. It took every aspect of her being not to laugh at the scene in front of her.

"B-b-bondage?!" Geoff was very familiar with that word but it wasn't ever something he had taken part in. He was curious as to who the person being tied up was. He had placed his bets on Grace, although it might've been Chloe. For all Geoff knew, he could've been the one tied up. The more the idea sat in his mind, the more confused he became. He had questions but they wouldn't come out of his mouth.

"Don't tell me you don't know what bondage is?" He shook his head at Grace's question. The words were still trapped in his throat and hadn't made their way out of his mouth. Geoff didn't know how to feel. He felt vulnerable in a sense. Nobody had ever known him this closely aside from a couple people he didn't have the intention of seeing again. The difference is he wanted to see Chloe again and there was a likelihood that Awsten would have to meet Grace. He couldn't run away from these people.

"Do you know what any of that is?" Geoff shook his head at the question and for the first time, Chloe felt like she had the upper hand on him. He was wasn't speaking at this point. Geoff had gone into full blown shock. He had always been one of those people that just had traditional (read: boring) sex. It was missionary and it got the job done. He never really thought that there was more to it. "You wanna enlighten him?"

"I feel like a walking Wikipedia page." Grace whined, shooting a look to the two people she spent the night with. Gauging Geoff's reaction from the previous exchange, he seemed very limited in his sexual experience. Grace hadn't noticed it at all the night before. When the boy was drunk, he seemed smoother and put together. Now that he was sober, he appeared to be more shy and withdrawn. It was going to be entertaining morning to say the least.

**********

"And that was my night." Of course he hadn't told Awsten all the details of the threesome. Who would? He hoped that some of the things he did that night stayed between the three of them to an extent. Instead, he told Awsten about the incredible breakfast Chloe had made for him and his ride back home. Geoff always seemed to get interesting Uber drivers for some reason. "Now tell me all about yours. What was so bad that it was bad day worthy?"

"Do I have to?" Awsten whined, sipping his sub par orange juice. They claimed it was freshly squeezed but he doubted it. Either way, it had nothing on his preferred orange juice; HEB. It was more expensive than most brands but Awsten had expensive tastes in almost every aspect of his life. The best things in life were expensive in his mind. "I'd literally rather take a bath with a toaster."

"You're being over dramatic." He wasn't. Awsten was over dramatic to say the least during most days but he was pretty hellbent on not reliving the last 24 hours. He wasn't sure how something he was looking forward to the idea of for so long turned out to be such a mess. If he was more self aware, he probably would have realized that he had idealized Michaela; propping her up on a pretty little pedestal. He would have realized that he didn't like Michaela but liked the idea of her. He would have known that he liked who he wanted her to be and not who she was. If Awsten was self aware, he would've known a lot of things. Like how his roommate felt about him. "It couldn't have been that bad."

"It was no threesome." Awsten mumbled, only slightly jealous of his roommate. He wasn't as sexually experienced as his peers but he chalked that up to being picky with his partners. He had only had a handful of partners in his life and all of them had been girls he had dated long term. Awsten didn't believe in one night stands so he hadn't exactly had a ton of sex. He hadn't ever had a friends with benefits before but he wasn't exactly opposed to the idea. He just wasn't sure if he was jealous over Geoff or the girls.

"It was no getting punched in the face." Geoff retorted more sharply than intended, left hand gesturing to his face. His pain tolerance wasn't the greatest. He always had thought that it was about average but he was seriously starting to rethink that. Geoff had broken his arm once as a child but he didn't remember it all too much. Aside from that, he was pretty good about making sure he wasn't ever hurt. His lip was a reminder of his mistake from the night before, the small throb here and there let him never forget it.

"You didn't remember it so it couldn't have hurt that bad." He grinned at his roommate. Awsten's day was starting to get better just by being around the other boy. There was something about Geoff that made him feel comfortable. He didn't feel like he had to impress Geoff like he had to impress everyone else. It helped that Geoff's smile was practically contagious and would rub off on him instantly. He wouldn't say it out loud but he liked having Geoff around. His apartment finally started to feel like a home.

"Shut up loverboy." Geoff shot the boy across from him a dirty look. His eyes usually resembled that of an ocean but if Awsten had to describe them in that moment, a tidal wave seemed closure to the truth. Awsten had a tendency to push boundaries; enough was never enough for him. It drove the people he considered his closest friends further away from him than he liked at times. He was aware of what he was doing but couldn't stop. He was a passenger to his actions as he was being driven off a cliff. 

"Fuck you." The words came out of Awsten's mouth without a hint of seriousness behind them. The retort sounded softer than usual and less bitter than it usually would. Perhaps it was that deep down, Awsten enjoyed the pet name. It didn't matter if he didn't say it out loud, he knew it in his soul. His mind wandered briefly to the idea of being saved in the other boy's phone as loverboy. If that were the case, he didn't think he would mind it.

"Sorry, shut up princess." Geoff had taken to calling the purple haired boy princess a week before. He heard it come out of Ciara's mouth and didn't like the way it originally sounded. Like most of the things she said, there was a foul tone to it and an air of disgust. It had become customary for Geoff to take some of the negative words to describe Awsten and spin them into something more positive and with happier undertones. He still hadn't fully taken to the term of unintentional endearment, a pout ever-present on his lips. "Tell me about this party."

**********

Awsten had his arms crossed over his chest and was trying to tune out the scene in front of him. There was a pop song from a few years back blasting over the chatter of strangers. People were pressed against one another, the fraternity being big but not big enough to contain half the campus. The air reeked of marijuana, stale cigarettes and cheap beer. Awsten wanted to be anywhere but wedged between an attractive couple making out and a fraternity guy that made him feel like he looked as small as a mouse. He snaked his way across the room, attempting to find the charismatic girl he originally came with.

Michaela had brought him and hadn't had the decency to stay by his side, not that he expected her to. Ciara often used to bring him to parties and leave him to his own devices but he was never happy about it. Ciara at least had the courtesy to wait until he seemed comfortable enough to be left alone. Michaela had introduced him to quite a few people, including almost everyone in her sorority. He just hadn't hit it off with anyone so far, male or female. She asked him multiple times if he was alright with her leaving him to grab a drink with one of her sorority sisters and he had insisted he was fine. He was lying.

The song had changed to a song he recognized; one of his favorite Donald Glover songs. If he had been around Jawn, he probably would started rapping along while the other ignored him entirely in favor of editing photos. If he was with Geoff, he would've started dancing rather poorly, earning a laugh from his roommate. He couldn't do any of that with all the strangers that filled the rooms of the once silent house.

Awsten wasn't generally an anxious person but he wasn't always the best with people. He couldn't articulate how he was feeling to save his life and spent nearly every waking moment trying not to think that everyone was staring at him. He both craved the attention and repelled it simultaneously. It didn't help that he wasn't great in large groups of people and had a tongue that his mother often called sharp.

He had spent enough time away from Michaela's side. She was the reason he was even here after all. Awsten wouldn't have been caught dead anywhere near a party this obnoxious. Every blonde he saw, he prayed it was the barista but with every passing moment his hope was dwindling.

He was under the impressesion that finding the other girl would turn his evening back around. Her laugh would be louder than the sound of whichever song they were playing. Her skin would be softer than the satin slip dresses that passed him in the crowd. Her lips on his would make him happy. There was only one problem. Awsten was never happy.

He was passing through the crowd with little success. The place was packed and rightfully so. It appeared to be the party of the century but little did he know it was a standard night on campus. Awsten speculated that if he was one for parties, he probably would've liked this one even if he didn't fit in with the majority of the people there. Even if his hair wasn't a light shade of purple, he would've still stood out of the crowd.

It felt like every man he past towered over him, all of them being well over six feet tall. He never viewed himself as short, standing at around five foot nine, although tonight was slowly changing his mind. It didn't help that on top of that, they all had tanned skin that reminded him of a certain brown haired boy who was out with what he could only imagine as a demon. He brushed the thought from his mind, forcing a breath out from his lips.

The sorority socialite he had come with was nowhere to be found, which was understandable given the size of the place. Awsten found himself at the bottom of a spiral staircase and began to make his way up the practically deserted set of stairs. He felt like he could breathe more freely now, his heart slowing down the beating in his chest. He wasn't entirely sure where he was going but was positive that a little privacy wouldn't exactly kill him.

It wasn't the greatest plan to try and be alone with his thoughts. He brain would swirl around ideas of Geoff on his date with Chloe. He told himself that it shouldn't matter and that he shouldn't care yet the thought plagued him. It was like a poorly constructed tattoo on the inside of his mind. He wished Geoff wasn't having a good time, even if he deserved it. The thought was selfish but it lingered longer than it should have.

"Hi."

The voice snapped him out of his trance before he collided with the body at the top of the stairs. His eyes trailed upward, locking eyes with a blonde haired boy. He was a little taller than Awsten, although Awsten standing two steps down from him still caused him to crane his next to speak to him. His eyes reminded him of Geoff's, the only difference being he felt like he could drown in his roommate's. He was beautiful, even if he was blocking off the top of the stairs.

"You're Awsten, right?" The blonde haired boy continued, gesturing for Awsten to come up the stairs. He turned his back to the purple haired boy to allow him access to the top floor of the house. He had no doubt that the person he behind him was the one Michaela had mentioned. No other person at the party had hair remotely similar to it aside from a girl with the tips of her hair dyed pastel pink.

"Uh, yeah." Awsten was relatively clueless on how this strange guy had any idea who the fuck he was. It took him a couple of moments to realize that he must have been a friend of Michaela's. That only solidified his theory that attractive people only hung around with other attractive people. After climbing the remaining steps, the stranger turned around and smiled at him, propping himself up against an empty space on the wall.

"Michaela mentioned you." He mentioned nonchalantly, taking a swing from his red solo cup. Awsten was positive it was infested with alcohol and wanted nothing to do with the person drinking from it suddenly. If he had been taking swings like that all night, he was positive that the person in front of him was probably drunk. There were few things Awsten hated more than drunk people. "I'm Viking. Not like a Viking or whatever but people call me Viking."

"Why the fuck do people call you Viking?" Awsten's dark brows were together in confusion. When you said the word viking, most people would have imagined someone with long, flowing, fiery red hair and a beard. Standing in front of him was a scrawny boy with less definition in his arms than Geoff. It didn't make any sense. Maybe it was ironic.

"My name on Twitter is Not Viking so people started calling me Viking." He gestured the awkward boy closer to him, not indicating that there was a person trying to get around him. Awsten moved forward regardless, not entirely being in a position where he could exit the conversation without appearing rude. "Name's Joey but nobody really knows me as Joey. Hell, most people didn't even know I was Not Viking til this year." The name sounded familiar to Awsten. It was likely he had seen his tweets on his timeline before.

"I think I've seen you before like on my timeline. You've got like a Danny Phantom icon I think?" Viking nodded. Awsten was pretty sure he had seen Viking's twitter because of Michaela. She often would retweet things from the account. Awsten just wasn't aware that she was actually friends with the person who ran the account. It made sense. "That's tight. How do you know Michaela?"

"Twitter mostly." Viking took another swing from his drink and theorized as to how much longer he was supposed to be occupying Awsten's time. The top of the stairs gave him an incredible view of the people below it while also giving him the opportunity as acting as the last line of defence. Nobody else knew about it and that made his life harder than it had to be. "What about you?"

"She works at this coffee shop I frequent with my roommate." A part of Viking wished Michaela was comfortable telling someone else, someone other than him. That person could have spent time keeping Awsten entertained on the lower level while he acted as a final layer of protection. He didn't really understand why she couldn't just tell Awsten or anyone else but he also was aware that it wasn't exactly his place to tell people for her.

"Common Grounds? Yeah, I go there a lot. Better than anything we have on campus." The conversation was running dry and Viking was running low on ideas. He had to get Awsten down the stairs and back on the lower level. He didn't really understand why he agreed to play lookout for Michaela in the first place but looking back on it, he identified his feelings as pity laced with fear with a tinge of disappointment. It was a feeling she was all too familiar with.

"That's cool." Awsten had been trying to find a way out of the conversation for a while, uninterested with the slightly drunk and on edge person in front of him. He was pretty positive Viking was on some sort of drug with the nervous energy he was radiating. "I'm actually trying to return a call, so I'm gonna go try and find somewhere quiet to do that." Awsten held up his phone and smiled, only really telling half a lie. He had every intention of calling someone but it wasn't so much a call back as a please-come-to-this-party call. He took a step towards one of the shut doors when a hand gripped onto his wrist.

"Wait!" Viking had no idea where he was going with this. He was pretty positive that if Awsten wondered around up here long enough, he would stumble onto something he wasn't supposed to see. If Michaela had asked him to help her three months ago, he was pretty positive that he would have told her to choke on her extensions. Somewhere along the line of intense hatred, it bled into an understanding of inner turmoil. "I- uh. I have a question."

"Shoot." Viking didn't like her because he didn't understand her but now that he did, everything made sense. The two of them were connected by an invisible string, binding the two of them together. The only difference was that Viking had the nerve to be upfront about who he was and confront his demons. Michaela was still struggling on both accounts. He felt responsible for her in a way. She was like the younger sister he never asked for. He had to protect her.

"Are you gay?" The words stumbled out of Viking's mouth with little regard for how they sounded. It wasn't entirely his fault, blaming the bluntness on a mixture of liquor and illegal substances. Awsten got the question often but it still stung when it was flung in his direction.

"Bisexual." He wasn't sure why it stung. It was 2018 and people were gay. It was a thing that was common. He shouldn't feel a feeling in his gut that felt like he was disappointing his parents when the word bisexual came out of the back of his throat. It did anyways. "Why?"

"Oh." Michaela hadn't mentioned that to Viking. Was it possible that she didn't know about his sexuality? Viking figured that it was probably the case. "I'm gay." Awsten blinked. Viking had said the statement with ease, confidence rolling off his tongue. He had come out the year prior and gotten nothing but praise for finally coming to terms with who he was. "Queer. A faggot. Whatever."

"Oh." Awsten blinked again stupidly, looking Viking up and down again. Viking had on a pair of black stylized sweatpants with rips in the knees that Awsten thought were absolutely incredible. He wanted to ask the other boy where he had gotten them from. "Cool. Okay." Awsten hadn't assumed that the person standing in front of him was gay. He defaulted to assuming everyone was straight until otherwise stated. Viking was cute, Awsten decided. Cute but not his type. "I gotta go call my friend Jawn."

"I just really want t-" Awsten had tuned out the faded twitter user and pushed open the first door and noticed a shirtless boy was smoking a joint by himself. The guy offered Awsten a puff of his joint before Awsten quickly shook his head and retreated back the way he came. He settled on the door next to it. He pushed the following door open despite the company to his left and the gagging sounds coming from the room. He was greeted with a visual of a girl puking on somebody's bed. He was glad it wasn't his.

"Awsten, are you listening?" He wasn't in the slightest but also this Viking person clearly wasn't taking the hint that he wasn't exactly in the mood to talk right now. He wanted to call Jawn and get him to rescue him from this situation. He spotted a third door down the hall and began to walk towards it, ignorant of what was behind it. "You can't go in there." Awsten ignored the declaration and walked towards the third door. "I'm serious! You can't go in there."

Awsten wanted to call Jawn and get him over here. He was positive his night could be restored if he got his friend by his side. Jawn was a social person and could easily make Awsten feel more comfortable with his surroundings. If for some reason he couldn't, he could easily leave and hit up an IHOP for some much needed comfort carbs.

Awsten opened the third door without Michaela in his mind but in his eyes instead. As the door creeped open, he saw Michaela getting eaten out by one of the girls she had left to get a drink with. Her name escaped Awsten. He was more focused on the fact that her mouth was against Michaela's crotch as she was snorting a line of thin white powder.

Before Michaela could realize who had stumbled onto her late night little affair, Awsten spun on his heel and flew down the stairs as fast as his feet could carry him. He ignored the calls of Viking and the people around him as he pushed through the crowd asking if he was okay. He wasn't. He hadn't been okay for a long time.

Awsten was making his way through the crowd, trying his best to ignore the tears that were forming in his eyes. He tried to blink back the water without any luck. All he could think about was the line of white going up her nose and the girl she was sleeping with. He felt hurt but he wasn't exactly sure he was allowed to. She was never his girlfriend to begin with. Michaela was an almost. Almost love. Almost girlfriend. Almost soulmate. Somehow, that made it hurt even more.

Awsten slid the backdoor open and entered a less populated section of the party. It was cold but that didn't stop party-goers from splashing around in the pool or getting hot and heavy in the hot tub. He turned to the side of the house and walked down the dark gap between the house and a dark wooden fence. He eventually settled in a patch of grass when the tears took over the entirety of his vision.

He didn't understand what was happening at first. It was too much for him to process without any of the required backstory. To a person like Awsten without any of the context, it didn't make any sense. She seemed fine. Perfect, even. Perhaps that was the problem with idealizing other people. She had then become a reflection of all of his wants and desires instead of being who she truly was- a person with problems.

He didn't know her like he thought he did. No one did with the exception of a twitter user she confided all of her problems into. Viking acted as her therapist at times when she refused to see her own. There was something about Viking that felt safe to Michaela. At first, she couldn't pin point it but after a while it became clear. They shared two things in common; substance abuse and sexuality.

Awsten let out a heart wrenching sob. If another human had heard it, he was pretty positive somebody would've wrapped their arms around him. He pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face. A mixture of tears and snot would inevitably coat his jeans but he didn't care anymore. Nothing mattered. He didn't matter.

So she did drugs, big deal. It wasn't unpopular to get high and hell, all of Awsten's friends had gotten high before. He was the only person he had met since high school that he never gotten high. He hadn't even been drunk before. He didn't allow himself to have of sip of alcohol either. He had something that most people called an addictive personality. If he would succumb to something once, it would be likely that he would become a creature of habit. That was something Awsten never spoke about. It made him feel broken. Defective, almost.

The thought of the line she had snorted was enough to make him let out another choked sob, tears streaming down his face. He was pretty positive that his tears had soaked through the dark material of his jeans and made it's way to his knees. He didn't care. He was more concerned about how one of his soulmates could have a drug addiction. He would have been unable to help her. She would only enable his addictive tendencies. It wasn't fair. Awsten wasn't the best at picking at the signs around him but he also wasn't her. He had no idea what she could have been going through.

Michaela didn't think she had a problem, that's what she told Viking. Viking, a guy who had been in and out of rehab, disagreed. She claimed that it made her feel better and more social and to an extent, it did. It also came with a price tag that was more than just shiny. It came at a cost of coming to terms with who she was, a feat she wasn't ready for.

At first, she only fooled around with other girls on the substance. She claimed that it made her horny and she didn't care who was going down on her because a mouth was a mouth. The first time it happened, it made all of her middle school fantasies look pathetic. After a while, she didn't need the drug to sleep with women. It felt liberating in a way. She didn't feel the need for a man, the type of person that always seemed to abuse her. It didn't help that to find a part of herself, she had to abuse substances.

Michaela didn't think she was gay and Viking wasn't in a position to tell her that she was, even if she wasn't sleeping with men anymore. She had no interest in them at all actually. Michaela saw men as an opportunity to support her new expensive lifestyle. She was pretty and they loved to flirt with her. What was so wrong with flirting back for some money?

Her psychiatrist told her that her behaviour was classified as manipulative but she didn't believe in that word. It was just another word thrown around with her diagnosis that had lost it's meaning a long time ago. Manipulative, abusive, toxic. All of them were words used to describe her illness, and by association, her. She couldn't let her think of herself that way. If she did, she knew she wouldn't be able to live to see another day.

She told Viking about her illness and he stayed there with her. It was the first time she had been open with another person about the demon that was herself. When most people spoke of their mental illness, it was easy to separate the two of them. They could remember who they were without their depression or anxiety. Michaela didn't have that luxury. Her illness was rooted deeply into the person she was. She had to live with the illness for the rest of her life. Her personality disorder was a permanent roommate she didn't ask for.

Tears streamed down Awsten's face as the scene played before him on repeat. His brain was so focused on the cocaine, he had almost forgotten about the girl she was having sex with. Almost. He recognized her as one of her sorority sisters. He tried to tell himself that all of this wasn't a regular thing and that this wasn't who she was. Unfortunately, he didn't know that. Neither did she.

Michaela Okland had no idea who she was as a person, taking traits of the people around her to feel accepted by her peers. She craved the love and attention from other people and fed on it like an emotional vampire. Her intentions were never of malicious although always resulted in someone else getting hurt. She wasn't in treatment despite the pleas from Viking. Instead, she numbed the hollow feeling inside herself with substances and the attention of her peers. They didn't make her feel any less empty but they made her forget what it was ever like to feel full.

Awsten was oblivious to all of this sadly. He only knew one side of the story -his- just like everyone else. From where he was sitting, nothing was adding up. It made no sense to him why she was acting affectionate and then distant or why she was using drugs. He was honestly surprised he hadn't run out of tears to cry. He blamed it on his fixation with staying hydrated. He pulled out his phone and through tear stained eyes typed the two words to the person that mattered the most. BAD DAY.

He only had himself to blame. He had put her up on a pedestal, even if he didn't realize it. Awsten didn't know her the way he thought he had. He had only constructed an image of what he wanted her to be and got angry when it wasn't the truth. He wasn't sure who he was more angry at; her or himself. Awsten wasn't self-aware enough to allow himself to come to terms with this on his own. Instead, the universe brought him his own little aid for the challenge along his quest.

A body sunk down next to him but he didn't care who it was anymore. The idle chatter of fraternity boys and sorority girls acted as backing vocals to whatever pop song was blasting through the house and muffling it's way into the backyard. His eyes were shut, tears still fresh on his lashes. He wanted to go home. He wanted Geoff.

"Are you okay?"

The voice was familiar. It was one he was used to hearing comfort him in the past. Even if it was a tone he hadn't heard in a while. It belonged to someone he had envisioned spending the rest of his life with. Through watery eyes, he looked to his side and stared into a pair of knowing green eyes. It was time for the truth to surface.

"I haven't been okay since you left me."

"Oh." Ciara was expecting him to tell her to leave him alone. It wasn't uncommon for her ex to shut everyone else out while his mind waged war on itself. She was expecting for him to shoo her away and to go back to her friends, one of which brought her here. Ciara was betting on being pushed away like she had been since the break up, taking off the majority of her clothes and jumping in the pool. Awsten wasn't a safe thing to bet on. Besides, she could get her clothes equally as soaked beside the purple haired boy. The tears coming out of him were enough to drown someone. The glossy look in his eyes only added to the guilt she already felt. "I'm sorry."

"You aren't." Awsten voice cracked, causing Ciara to feel some sympathy for her ex boyfriend for the first time in a long time. The sound caused her to shut her eyes, unable to look at the pained boy any longer. "If you were sorry, you wouldn't have done it. You wouldn't have." If the first crack in his voice wasn't bad enough, this one was. Ciara was hoping that an asteroid would hit her and kill her instantly.

"You wouldn't have hurt me." He was to say it clearly that time but there was still hurt behind his words. Ciara had a history of this sort of thing. She would get together with a boy, then start being interested in someone else and start seeing them behind her boyfriend's back. Eventually, she would get caught, dump her boyfriend and get together with her next victim. She was a creature of habit, doomed to repeat the cycle. Awsten was just hoping he could break it. He couldn't. "I get it though. I would leave me too if I had the chance."

"Awst-"

"It's okay." He shook his head, tears coating his reddening face. He wasn't one to go red often. Blushing was a rarity for him and it was out of character to cry until his cheeks turned red. Ciara had only seen him turn the warm color on one other occasion; their breakup. It wasn't okay. Both of them knew that. "Really. It's not-"

"You've got a big mouth sometimes and this is one of those times where you really need to shut the fuck up." Something he missed about her was her bluntness. Ciara never hesitated to call him out on his bullshit or when he was hyper-fixating on something stupid. She didn't always do it in the best way but it was a quality that very few people possessed to begin with. He missed a lot of things about her, even if there was just as many things he was glad to never have to deal with. "Shut up and listen to me this time."

"All you ever do is talk and talk and talk and blow me off but you never fucking listen." It wasn't the time or place to be having the conversation about their relationship but Ciara didn't really think she was going to get a better opportunity. It wasn't often that her former lover brought up the status of their once incredible relationship. Her words might have been coming out harsher than intended, especially considering the state of the person she was speaking but she couldn't help it. Awsten knew that. "I listen you to all the time but you never listen when I talk."

"Now you know how I felt when we were together." The statement hit her like a swift punch to the gut. She never thought of it that way at all. Ciara wasn't even sure if she believed the statement at first but given the fact that the purple haired boy was still sobbing like a kid with a scrapped knee, she figured he had to be telling the truth. At no point during or after their relationship did he indicate that he felt that way. There was still so many aspects of their crumbled relationship that had gone unspoken that neither of them truly knew where to start picking up the pieces.

"I didn't mean to make you feel that way." She paused for a moment, trying and failing to collect her thoughts. Ciara wasn't always the best at communicating how she felt to people. It was something she had been spending the majority of her life working on with little success. "I've been trying to apologize to you for months now because I feel horrible about everything that happened and you always leave." It was true. Whenever Ciara had finally gathered the courage to say the two words she hated the most, Awsten found a way to leave the situation or even worse, cut her off.

"Why would I want to be around somebody who broke off a part of me I'm never getting back?" His nose was congested at this point and if you asked Ciara, he looked down right pitiful. Awsten was reminding her more and more like a little kid with his chest against his knees and tears in his eyes. She sighed softly at the scene in front of her. Ciara didn't know that she had left him this much of a mess. If she did, she wasn't sure she would have been able to stay away from him for so long. She fished into her purse and handed him a handful of Chipotle napkins. "You hate Chipotle."

"I hate a lot of things but that doesn't mean I don't love parts of them too." She remarked sharply, staring the boy down. He was clueless to the fact that she wasn't only talking about the restaurant. His obliviousness and nativity was a part of the reason she fell in love with him the first time. He was more charming than the average person. Awsten blew his nose with one of the brown napkins loudly, allowing himself to breathe once again, even if he didn't feel like he deserved it. "Believe it or not, I like being around you. Dating or not."

"Why?" Awsten couldn't imagine anyone actually enjoying his presence. He was the most annoying person on the face of the earth and was pretty sure that everyone would be better off without him. He hadn't felt this low in a long time. His breakup was the last cause. Who knew talking to Ciara would invoke the same set of feelings. "I'm awful."

"I think you mean awesome." Her sappy joke earned a small smile from her ex. She counted that as a victory. A smile was a crack in Awsten's armor, allowing her to help him out of his current state. "You make life interesting. Do you know how boring work is since we've broken up?"

"Painstakingly." Awsten replied dryly. His job used to be the highlight of his day. He would get to spend eight hours with the love of his life surrounded by beauty. Now it was more like walking in to a date with death. The pair would avoid each other at every opportunity. His favorite days were the ones she wasn't scheduled to work with him.

"I miss when a customer would ask for roses and you'd give them daisies. I miss when you'd hide in the back freezer and scare me when I was coming in to get sunflowers. I miss when we would bring each other lunches to work and complain about whatever rich, white, asshole named Samantha would come in to make our jobs harder. I miss you, dummy."

He never thought he would live to hear Ciara say those three words. They were words that echoed in his mind consistently and made him feel worse than he knew was possible. I miss you was the gateway to I love you. Every part of his brain was telling him not to but he knew the truth. He had to say them back.

"I miss you too."

"Now why are we crying?" Ciara was positive the tears weren't about her. Awsten wasn't much of a crying in public kind of guy. Under most circumstances, he would just go back to his apartment, throw a comforter over his head and cry until he ran out of tears. Ciara had noticed him at the party before his climb up the stairs and had a feeling it had to do with something at the top of them. "Who's ass am I kicking?"

"No one." Awsten sniffled, feeling more pathetic than he knew was possible. The cool air was almost making him shiver. If he hadn't been crying, he was pretty sure he would have been sniffling because of the breeze. He wanted to go home but he didn't want to be alone. It didn't help that Geoff wasn't answering his cry-out. "It's my fault. Everything is always my fault."

"Don't care who's fault it is." Ciara answered coolly, although she was almost certain it wasn't actually Awsten's fault. He had the tendency to be an asshole sometimes but it wasn't common for him to dive himself into something that made him visibly upset. She shimmied out of her black leather jacket, exposing her mesh top before slinging the dark material over Awsten's cool skin. "Who's ass am I kicking?"

"Nobody's." Awsten responded, almost automatically leaning his head onto his ex girlfriend. He was expecting her to flinch away at the contact but she stayed. If he wasn't feeling so numb, maybe his heart would have skipped a beat. "They aren't important anymore. Neither am I." The statement was a thought that stitched itself into his psyche. Every since the pair had parted ways, he had convinced himself he was no longer important to anyone. No matter how incorrect the idea was, it remained just the same.

"You're important in the same way we're all important. You're somebody's entire world and both simultaneously irrelevant to the general public." Ciara exhaled as she was hit with a small gust of wind. She was cold but was positive that Awsten needed the jacket. What she didn't know was that it was heating up more than just his once exposed arms. His heart was finally warming up to the blonde girl. "Now who made you feel this way? They're going to pay."

"I don't want you to hurt them." 

The sentence shocked Ciara almost as much as Awsten was shocked by her defensive behavior. He couldn't imagine his ex girlfriend still caring about him in the slightest. She couldn't imagine someone who wouldn't want some form of compensation for such an emotional injury. If she was in his situation, she was positive that she would have been out for blood. Perhaps, she didn't know her previous partner at all.

"I know they hurt me but I don't want you to hurt them." Awsten was used to being hurt, intentionally or otherwise, as horrible as that might sound. He didn't want another human to have to go through any of the pain he was feeling, let alone be the cause of it. He recalled the scene he had stumbled onto earlier in the night, the thought making his stomach churn. He wasn't over it and at that moment, he wasn't sure he ever would be.

"They deserve it." Ciara argued, leaving out the rest of her thought. She was positive that anyone that messed with Awsten indefinitely deserved whatever they got. He wiped his mostly dry eyes with the back of his hand. He felt pathetic but blew his nose with another napkin. Ciara was fighting back the urge to shiver. The cold hurt but not as much as whatever was hurting Awsten. It wasn't just like Ciara could leave him crying in the cold anyways. "And for what it's worth, whoever it is doesn't deserve you."

"Nobody deserves to have somebody as awful as me in their life." Awsten muttered mostly to himself, pulling his arms through the sleeves of the jacket. He wasn't originally sure if his biceps would fit into the sleek fit of the jacket but by some miracle, they did. Ciara had a tendency to buy jackets a size or two bigger than she needed given the length of her torso. She was an average height but had an almost exact torso to leg ratio. What was usually a curse had suddenly turned into a blessing.

"I'm gonna fucking punch you." Ciara grumbled, wrapped one of her cold arms around the boy beside her. The action felt organic and it made her miss the way they used to be. She wondered where Geoff was and why he wasn't comforting his boyfriend. She wasn't the best partner and wasn't in the position to be critiquing other people but it still left the thought in her mind. Maybe Geoff wasn't all that he was cracked up to be. "Where's Zelda? I didn't take him as the type to leave his boyfriend to cry at a party."

"He's hanging out with someone else tonight." Awsten left out the fact that hanging out was actually a date and that someone else was actually Satan. The mention of speaking the evening with someone brought him back to the fact that he was technically on a date with someone. Someone who had just done a line of drugs while getting head from someone that wasn't him.

"Doesn't he know that he shouldn't let you go to parties like this by yourself? Some cute little blonde sorority girl is going to pick you up and never put you down." The words she had meant as a joke caused tears to start forming in his eyes. She let out a sigh, releasing the boy and rising to her feet. The absence of her body left him feeling more alone than ever.

"Please don't leave." The words came out of Awsten's mouth in a hoarse voice. He hadn't wanted to say them but knew he would regret leaving things unsaid. They were the same words he wanted to say the last time she had left him and he hadn't gotten the chance. He didn't think he would ever get put in the situation to say them, let alone the opportunity. "Not again. I don't think I could handle it."

Ciara smiled at the comment yet it wasn't of malice. It was a rare sight since the two of them had parted ways. When they were together, it was a look that was permanently a part of her. She couldn't go anywhere without laughing at something stupid Awsten did or smile at a nice thing he got for her. She wasn't smiling at the pain in the voice of her former lover but at the prospect of starting over.

"I was sorta hoping you'd come with me. It's cold out and I wanted to leave anyways." She extended a hand to the shell of a person propped against the sand colored bricks. He took her hand instantly, unaware that by doing so, he had altered a piece of her that neither of them could see. It was a shame that Geoff wasn't there that night. If he was, he would have been able to tell Awsten that on the way to the car, her heart had turned yellow.


	8. Incoming!

"What happened after that?" Geoff inquired, more interested than he should have been. He theorized that Ciara had dropped him off at the apartment but also had a sneaking suspicion that she might have taken him back to her place. Awsten wasn't exactly the type of guy to fuck the sad out of him but he was also pretty sure that Ciara could tell that it wasn't the best idea to leave him alone.

"I slept on her couch and caught a lyft back home." Awsten was only partially lying. He was originally supposed spend the night on the couch after another intense breakdown in her car and then on her bathroom floor. It wasn't his fault that after an hour of tossing and turning, wrapped up in nothing but his loneliness and a fluffy Power Rangers blanket, that he knocked on her door. It was her fault for answering anyway. Her hair was sticking up everywhere and was wearing one of his oversize tee shirts. He didn't understand how she could throw out his shoes and still keep his Mickey Mouse shirt.

"Why didn't you get her to drive you?" She might have been half asleep but she was fully aware of her actions. She let him into her room, looking just like how he had remembered it and leading him to the bed. Nothing has changed. It felt like the night that the two of them originally started seeing each other. Both of them had partners, or so Ciara was led to believe this time, but he was invited into her bed regardless. This time, neither of the two of them made a move; Ciara respecting his emotional instability and Awsten respecting the boundaries of her relationship. Her relationship status didn't stop her from pulling the boy closer to her and pressing her chest to his back. Awsten always loved being the little spoon.

"I didn't want to bother her." He replied truthfully this time, finishing the remains of his drink. He flagged down their server in passing and requested the bill. Awsten wasn't about to go into any more detail about his night from hell. As far as bad days go, his was definitely worse. At least Geoff got laid at the end of his. All Awsten was left with was the stench of marijuana in one of his favorite shirts.

"You had no problem bothering her." Geoff noted, gesturing to the waitress with her hands full. She was clearly busy, running around her section and what was probably supposed to be someone else's. They were short staffed and busy. Geoff's heart went out to her. She would be getting a good tip from the two boys.

"If you want to stay here all day, be my guest. It's my day off and I want to start decorating for Halloween." Awsten was one of those former emo kids that had turned into a slightly functioning adult. There were remains of the once alternative past; dyed hair, the sound of Fall Out Boy from his Apple Music when he would take a shower, an intense love of Halloween. Awsten cringed at his scene phase and prayed that no one would ever see the photos. He did everything in his power to make sure that they never saw the light of day, with the exception of the one his parents had on the wall. He couldn't take that one down if he tried and lord knows, he tried.

"It isn't even October." Geoff was technically right although the month was quickly approaching. He wasn't sure how the two of them had blown through a month of their year together already with little to no progress in the soulmate department. Only four of Awsten's potential partners had revealed themselves; Michaela, Ciara, Grace and himself.

"Shut up. You're already dead so your opinion doesn't matter." Awsten quipped, shooting a dirty look across the diner table. Michaela was indefinitely not his soulmate, based on the description of the night before. Ciara was a shot in the dark. She was an enigma. A mystery. Anything could happen with her and it wouldn't surprise Geoff but he was betting on his soulmate being her. Her and Awsten had tried things before and failed so he wasn't sure what trying again would do.

"I'm dead so I feel like my opinion is more relevant than yours." Geoff replied, a smirk decorating his lips. He didn't know how to tell Awsten about Grace. It wasn't possible for him to just say casually that he had slept with the person Awsten was going to potentially spend his entire life with. It wasn't like not telling him was an option either. The pair had a limited amount of time to sift their way through potential love interests and try to find the diamond among the dogs. "How are you even going to decorate? The apartment is tiny."

"I was thinking of putting up a couple ghosts inside our windows an-"

"Stop appropriating ghost culture. It's offensive." The stupid joke earned a laugh from his still broken roommate. A laugh was a start. Then there was himself. Geoff. He was an option, even if the boy across from him was unaware. Geoff didn't think he was Awsten's soulmate. The possibility was almost completely off the table and yet a part of him wondered why he was keeping it to himself. If he had to tell Awsten about Grace, he had to tell him about himself.

"Fuck you! You aren't even a real ghost." Awsten was smiling for real this time. The sight made Geoff's heart flutter. His roommate was absolutely breathtaking, even if he didn't think so. Even if he wasn't, Awsten had an air about him that made Geoff drawn to him. He was outgoing but yet somehow held secrets inside of him. Gorgeous but somehow his facial features didn't match on both sides of his face. Straight forward yet somehow confusing. Who the hell was Geoff kidding? Awsten was like someone hit randomize on a sim.

"I'm not a real person either." Geoff has thought about that a lot within the past month. He was neither living nor dead. He wasn't exactly a ghost but not quite a mortal anymore. It didn't make much sense to him, let alone to Awsten. He hadn't exactly found the nerve to tell Chloe he wasn't actually alive either. He was sorta just hoping that everything with Awsten worked out and he was given his life back. He was counting on it, actually.

"I guess that means you're out of this world." Awsten said the words without thinking, like most of the things he says around people he enjoyed the company of. Geoff's eyes widened at the comment and Awsten felt a voice in his head tell him to shut the fuck up. Geoff stood up and turned away from his roommate quickly, walking out of the establishment entirely. "Wait! I gotta pay for the rest of our breakfast!" Awsten snatched the wallet out of his jacket pocket and threw down a set of bills and raced after his supernatural partner in crime. He had no idea that the reason Geoff had fled was because of the tint to his cheeks. Geoff was thankful he could blame the sign of embarrassment on the chill in the air. It was going to be a long year.

**********

A knock was what woke Geoff up from his afternoon nap. Neither of the boys had slept well from night before and given the circumstances, nobody could blame them. Geoff thought he imagined the rapping of knuckles on the door at first. Nobody ever had come over before and he was starting to doubt if Awsten had any friends. That illusion was shattered when he heard a voice he didn't recognize.

"Let me in asshole!"

Geoff's eyes fluttered open, more curious than irritated. That didn't stop him from being slightly scared by the tone of the person on the other side of the door. Whoever it was felt the need to knock once more. Geoff jumped to his feet and scurried to Awsten's room, following the stranger's lead and knocking on the door. After a few moments with no reply, he threw the door open.  
Geoff had never been in Awsten's room before and now he knew why. The walls were covered in magazine clippings and posters from the bands he listened and artists he aspired to be as talented as. His desk was littered with a half finished cork board with photos of him and people Geoff didn't recognize. In the corner was a pair of guitars; one a light brown acoustic and the other a bright blue electric. On his windowsill was an assortment of cacti and succulents. Fairy lights were strung up along the ceiling. Walking into Awsten's room felt personal, like he was intruding on a private moment.

And then there was Awsten, who was asleep. His mouth was hanging open, a thin trail of drool forming on the pillow he was clutching in his sleep. The sun was pouring in past the curtains, casting thin lines of light against the purple haired boy's pale torso. Geoff had yet to see his roommate shirtless until now. Awsten had a body that most people would be proud of but he was still unhappy with his appearance. Geoff didn't understand how someone with that kind of arm definition could wear a shirt all the time.

"Awsten." Geoff whispered, rubbing his roommate's bicep. He was trying his best not to look at his roommate's torso but he wasn't sure he would get another chance. He told himself if Awsten didn't respond to the second call of his name that he would let his eyes wonder. He nudged the purple haired boy harder this time, remembering there was someone at their door. "Awsten, wake up."

"Mmmm." Awsten sighed softly, rolling from his side to his back. That didn't count as a response, right? It couldn't have been a coincidence that the blanket that had covered the space between Awsten's belly button and hips had scooted down perfectly, putting one of the most hidden parts of him on display. He didn't have a six pack, to Geoff's surprise. His ab muscles were underdeveloped compared to the rest of his body, although his stomach was still flat.

"Awsten." Geoff tried again, shaking his shoulder a bit harder this time. He wasn't as hairy as he expected him to be for being a quarter Greek. His legs peaked out of the comforter, indicating not only that his legs were the hairiest part of him but that he must have been in only a pair of boxers. Geoff blinked and tried to tear his eyes off of his roommate with little luck. "Need to wake up. Somebody's here."

"I'm up, I'm up." Awsten muttered, trying to convince himself more than Geoff. His eyes opened slowly, unimpressed with being woken up. He didn't know why Geoff was in his room but he assumed it had to have been for a good reason. Awsten rubbed the sleep that had formed in the corner of his eyes, letting out a small yawn. He shoved the remainder of the blanket off of his legs, exposing his black boxers. "What?"

"There's a knock on the door." Geoff mumbled, averting his eyes from the scene before him. He felt like an intruder for the first time since moving in. He was in Awsten's space uninvited and he wasn't exactly expecting any visitors, even if there was one at the door. "I don't know what to do. You gotta go answer it."

"Why couldn't you?" Awsten groaned, throwing a hand over his eyes dramatically. He hadn't slept as well next to Ciara as he thought he would. He was expecting his body to feel at ease once again but instead he was filled with all the butterflies as when he first met her. He crawled into the space beside her and spent far too long wondering if that would be the last time they laid together. He hoped it wasn't.

"Thought this was 'our' apartment." The half asleep boy taunted smirking while he sat up slowly. He was in the middle of his rather large bed, bright blue blanket discarded at the bottom. The bed was too big for just him and at times he had regretted getting a king size. It made sense in the beginning; when he had someone spending the night. Not much made sense to him since Ciara left. "Shouldn't you be able to answer the door?"

"Just answer it." Geoff grumbled, dragging the half naked boy up by his wrist. By leading him to the stranger, he wouldn't have the opportunity to check out his roommate any longer. He wondered briefly if Awsten ever checked him out. He didn't think so, unless you counted a couple odd glances at some interesting choices in clothing. It didn't hit him that since he was also in his underwear that Awsten had a matching view. The pounding on the door only continued. Geoff wondered if the person on the other side had ever stopped. He figured their hand must have hurt. "Please."

"What if it's my mom?" Awsten complained, trying to tug away from the grasp. His feet lead him forward regardless, like the traitors they were. The two of them were half naked, practically arm in arm. If Awsten's mom was on the other side of their apartment door, he sure had some explaining to do. He wasn't exactly out to his family yet and even if him and Geoff didn't actually do anything, he knew there would be questions to answer.

"Does your mom call you asshole?" Geoff hissed, practically flinging the other boy towards the door. Awsten turned around the face his roommate and Geoff was expecting a slap or at least a bit off sass. Instead, all he got was a smile that was bright enough to light up the darkest parts of him.

"Why didn't you tell me that?" Awsten beamed, turning back towards the door. He turned the silver handle and flung the door open with a complete lack of care for the fact that he was practically naked. As a brown haired boy came into Geoff's view, an 8-bit version of a pop ballad began to play overhead.

The boy moved in slow motion, his hand dropping from a fist that was once pounding on their door to a relaxed hand by the side of his body. His mouth spread into a smile almost as large as Awsten's, either oblivious or unaware of Awsten's lack of clothes. The brown haired boy took two steps backward before running towards Awsten. It looked absolutely ridiculous to the two of them, the brown haired boy running in slow motion. Awsten couldn't help but laugh as the boy jumped at him, sticking his arms out to catch him. Time regained it's speed shortly after, Awsten's laughter taking over the place of the soundtrack.

"Travis!"

Geoff could only assume the boy wrapped up in Awsten's arms was named Travis. He had little care for the lack of clothes covering Awsten's body, indicating their level of closeness. When the two separated, Geoff got a better look at Travis. As he had theorized, there was a tiny heart on Travis's chest. This heart was different to every other one he had seen, at least at first. Travis's heart was somehow already a pale yet bright yellow that reminded Geoff of a daffodil. It had become clear to him that not all people had started with a grey heart. Not all relationships in this game were created equally.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Travis questioned his longtime best friend. It was unusual for Awsten to be this distant especially without any warning. After his breakup with Ciara, he shot Travis a text indicating that he needed some space and much to Travis' displeasure, he complied. He was used to Awsten coming over on Friday after work to complain about the stupid customers that would irritate him during the week while chowing down on some vegetarian takeaway. He was used to texting the other boy consistently, updating each other about every aspect of their lives. Travis missed him to say the least.  
“Around.” Awsten said vaguely, shrugging to no one in particular. He couldn't exactly tell Travis the truth. If he told one of his best friends about how he accidentally summoned a dude from the dead and was pulled into an absurd game to find the love of his life, he didn't think Travis would believe him. Travis was really into conspiracy theories and all things otherworldly but he somehow doubted the other boy would take him seriously. “Busy with work. You know how it is.” Awsten wasn't in the mood to tell Travis about Ciara either. He was pretty positive that Travis would tear him a new asshole for talking to his ex-girlfriend again.

“Doesn't give you the excuse to be a stranger.” Travis was right and it made Awsten feel a little guilty. He hadn't meant to push the people he cared about away from him. Between Geoff, finding his soulmate, working a soul crushing job and trying to make sure he had enough for rent every month, he was keeping himself busy. Travis calling him out reminded him about someone else close to him; Jawn. Awsten hadn't reached out the night before like he had wanted to. Maybe he should've. If he did that though, he wouldn't have woken up with his arms tangled around a girl he hadn't stopped thinking about for months. Geoff felt a pair of eyes analyzing him and suddenly felt aware of how exposed he was to this stranger. “Am I interrupting something? I'll get out of your hair.”

“It's not what it looks like.” Awsten groaned, trying his best to ignore Travis' questioning gaze. “This is my roommate Geoff.” The purple haired boy gestured to Geoff, who was feeling more uncomfortable by the second. He was in the middle of questioning why he had no information on Travis come to his mind when the details began to flood into his brain. 

Travis M Riddle. Twenty-five years old. Born December 25th 1992. An aspiring author with three self-published books. Likes consisting of tater-tots, dogs, comic books and video games. Dislikes consisting of pickles, bad grammar and the color orange. Geoff paid little attention to the schedule inserting itself into his brain; he was positive that Awsten already knew it. Geoff paid a little more attention to the memory playing out in front of him. It had a younger version of Travis, probably not any older than six or seven years old in church talking to two older kids. He wasn't sure if Awsten knew anything about Travis' younger years. Even if he did, Geoff wasn't sure if it was his place to ask about what he saw.

Geoff isn't quite sure what he saw to begin with. It was just as vague and mysterious as Michaela's and Ciara's. Geoff had theorized what the two moments symbolized a few times but hadn't come up with anything concrete. He thought that Ciara might've had a terminal illness from the snapshot he was given of her isolated time in a hospital bed. Micheala on the other-hand was a little more of an interesting situation. Her's consisted of a conversation Geoff couldn't hear with her grandmother, causing Geoff to consider that she might've been sexually assaulted by her grandmother. He had assumed that in a traditional video game manner, everyone's backstory would be tragic. Geoff just hoped he was wrong.

“Roommate?” Travis quirked his brow at the purple haired boy. He was positive that it wasn't possible for that to be the case. Awsten quickly declined his offer to move in with him and Zakk when he was first leaving home. When Travis pitched the idea of splitting an apartment with someone else, Awsten protested. Awsten absolutely hated the idea of living with anyone else, let alone a stranger. A roommate wasn't a realistic option for Awsten and both of them knew that. Travis wasn't buying whatever lie Awsten was trying to sell him.

“Uh, yeah.” Geoff forced a closed mouth smile in Travis' direction. There wasn't anything wrong with Travis or anything, Geoff was just sort of at a loss for words. He was positive that no one's heart could start off as yellow and Travis was living proof that it wasn't true. Geoff wasn't even sure if Awsten knew about Travis potentially being the love of his life. Sure, a song had serenaded both of them and Travis had gotten his slow motion cut-scene but Awsten was kind of an idiot sometimes. 

“That's me. Geoff. Hi.” Geoff wasn't used to all this social interaction. He had spoken to five people counting his Lyft driver this morning and in Geoff's mind, that was five people too many. Somehow that simple hello was the start a very intense question process, mostly directed at Geoff. If the book writing thing didn't work out for Travis, Geoff thought he would make a good lawyer.

**********

"I can't believe you still aren't ready." Awsten scoffed at his roommate, who was pretty content being sprawled across the couch. Geoff wasn't paying attention to him in the slightest. He was texting somebody -probably Chloe- while still eagerly listening to the episode of Voltron playing off of Awsten's laptop. He was seriously regretting giving Geoff his Netflix password.  
"You're not ready either." Geoff quipped, eyes darting from his phone to the cartoon in front of him. The last time Awsten had come out to bother him, Awsten had a green face mask on and wasn't wearing pants. He was in no position to comment on Geoff's unpreparedness. Geoff sort of had an outfit laid out on the end of the bed, he just hadn't changed into it just yet. "If you aren't ready, you aren't allowed to scold me."

"You aren't even dressed! At least I'm dressed." Awsten argued, pulling on a pair of socks with tiny pineapples on them. Awsten had managed to squeeze in his careful and time consuming skincare routine before Geoff had even selected an outfit. Awsten tried not to focus on his clothes but it was impossible. He had changed twice already, settling on a black and white sweater that looked like it was covered in newspaper headlines.

"You're dressed and face masked but did you brush your teeth?" Geoff turned his eyes away from the program, flashing Awsten a cheeky grin. The other boy's face flushed as he grumbled a reply, locking himself in the bathroom. Geoff had only met Travis a few days ago but immediately recognized him as a viable option for Awsten. The sunshine yellow heart on his chest was proof of that.  
The day after the pair met, Travis invited Awsten for lunch. He had reacted in a typical Awsten fashion; freaking the fuck out because ohmygod, when has Travis ever asked to get lunch? It was because of that reaction, Geoff somehow got roped into going to lunch with the two of them. Travis was fine with the addition and invited another friend of his along. If Geoff was more socially educated, he might've thought it was a double date.

"You'd better be dressed by the time I get out!" Awsten called, words muffled by the toothbrush in his mouth. Geoff moved the mouse on the screen. 3:47 minutes left. A solid minute and a half of that had to be previews. All he had to do was hope Awsten would play with his hair a million times in the mirror until he deemed it suitable. That would give him enough time to finish the episode, change and still be able to bug Awsten about his not-really-but-maybe date.

That thought was short lived. The click came from behind him, Awsten enviably emerging from the bathroom. Geoff sighed, grabbing the clothes next to him and standing up. Awsten opened his mouth, probably to tease the other boy's tardiness or something equally as trivial before his phone rang.  
"Tell them we've already left."

**********

Everything was going perfectly on what Geoff had realized was a double date. Except really, it wasn't at all. Travis' friend was actually his roommate Zakk, who was incredibly attractive but also incredibly interested in Travis. Geoff was dumb but he wasn't a complete fucking idiot. That was Awsten's job, ignoring every flirty comment that came out of Zakk's mouth towards Travis. He did just as good of a job ignoring them as Travis did, probably just chalking it up to both of his friends being flirtatious. Geoff knew something was in the air the moment he heard a silent soundtrack that Awsten didn't have the right headphones to listen to.

Geoff had pulled out his phone almost immediately when the two of them sat down, shooting Awsten a dirty look when the purple haired boy questioned why he had texted them. Zakk snorted at Awsten's foolish question and questioned how he had lived that long without knowing basic texting etiquette. Even Travis knew that when someone else texted you while you were in the same room, you were supposed to keep the message to yourself.

“So Geoff.” Zakk had peeled his eyes off of Travis for a moment, giving the gamer an ounce of his attention. His typically dark eyes appeared more hazel in the sun. They had requested a table outside so Zakk, who Awsten described as a juul addict, could juul in peace. “What do you do?” Zakk racked a hand through his long black hair, pushing it out of his face. He really should've put it in a man-bun, it was nearly the perfect length.

“Uh.” It was a good question, even if it was a customary one. What was Geoff doing? Well right now, he was supposed to be helping Awsten find his soulmate so he wouldn't have to die again and as lovely as Zakk was, he was preventing him from doing that. “I'm a barista right now at this coffee shop.” He wanted to avoid mentioning Common Grounds at all costs but it seemed like it was out of his control at this point. He was positive that talking about the coffee shop would have Awsten's mind wander to the same person his did. “Not like a Starbucks or anything. It's like a hole in the wall almost but we usually have a steady stream of customers so I guess it's not so bad.”

“Common Grounds?” Travis was asking more out of courteousness than out of curiosity. He already knew the answer. Common Grounds was the only cafe in Houston that matched the description. There wasn't a shortage of Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts in the city, causing almost all of the smaller shops to shut down. Common Grounds had still kept itself afloat from numerous food bloggers posting about them. In a way, it was almost a hot spot. Travis was just positive that there wasn't anyone stupid enough to come to Houston just for the sake of coffee.

“How does everybody know about this place?” Geoff asked with a hint of shock to his voice. Between him and Ciara both knowing almost immediately, he was totally confused. Did he have the shop logo tattooed somewhere across his face that he didn't know about? He knew that the place was popular but perhaps he doubted the extent of it. Turns out that word of mouth was still the best form of advertising.

“I take everyone I like there.” Awsten answered defensively, taking a sip of his water. They placed their order only minutes prior and despite the glaring look from Geoff, he happily ordered his salad. He couldn't eat garbage every day, especially if he wanted to tone the rest of his body to the extent his arms were. Awsten had been trying to get abs for a while now and Geoff entering his life wasn't exactly helping him out. He wasn't going to the gym as often as he should have. That was going to have to have to change.

“You've never taken me there.” Zakk replied, a smirk present not on his face but on his tongue. Travis was shaking his head at the boy next to him at this point, already knowing where the conversation was heading. The two boys would often egg each other on, teasing one another until Travis eventually had enough and told them to knock it off. It was usually at a point when Zakk was getting close to a sensitive spot for Awsten. Travis knew those parts of him better than the raven haired boy.

“It's because I don't like you Autrey.” Awsten replied cheerfully, a grin dancing across his lips. Instead of replying to Awsten's clearly false statement, Zakk inhaled his juul. Geoff wasn't quite sure what flavor it was just yet but speculated that it was something with fruit. He hadn't been alive when the juul trend had taken off originally but he already preferred it to vaping. It seemed less obnoxious to Geoff in a weird way. When Zakk exhaled, he was able to put his finger on the scent; apple.

“Wait, you guys know each other?” It made sense to Geoff in a weird way. The three of them had an interesting dynamic to them. Geoff felt like he was almost intruding by even being present for lunch. It was as if Travis, Zakk and Awsten were on a date with each other and Geoff was spectating. He didn't think it was possible to be the fourth wheel on a date but clearly, he was wrong. Awsten didn't need him here at all.

“We all went to school together.” Travis supplied, shooting a look to the other two boys who were smirking at each other. Geoff's eyes bounced across the two boys who were shouting various forms of playful banter at one another across the table. Their smiles were wide despite the insults being flung at one another. Geoff felt a pang in his chest. Was this what jealousy felt like? He had never had friends like this before. He didn't have anybody he could be this comfortable with. “Don't worry about them. They're always like this.”

“Don't know how we tolerated him this long.” Zakk announced, tone more serious than it previously had been. It wasn't intentional of course but Awsten immediately took the statement personally. This was one of the insecurities Travis was unfamiliar with. Awsten was constantly feeling as if the people around him didn't enjoy his presence. He was convinced that the majority of the people in his life actually hated him. They stuck around because they pitied him and nothing more. He spent his entire life feeling like a burden to everyone and yet no one knew.

“Fuck you!” Awsten spat viciously, words quickly passing through his teeth. He might've sounded angry although his insides were filled more with sadness than any sort of venom. Words hurt him more than they should but they stung even worse coming out of the mouth of someone you loved. They hurt even more because someone once very close to him had said something similar before; Ciara. He never did go into the speech as to why she broke up with him so it wasn't like he expected either of them to know; he didn't want to bore them with the details. It didn't make the words hurt any less. “You guys need me.”

“Need is a strong word.” Travis said playfully, unaware of Awsten's invisible injuries. It wasn't uncommon for them to gang up on a person every now and then when they were joking around but that person was rarely Awsten. The confidence Awsten once had during the outing almost immediately vanished, almost entirely undetected by everyone else at the table. Awsten was practically beaming for the entirety of their time together and yet as quickly as the permanent grin arrived, it disappeared. Geoff could tell something was wrong but wasn't sure to handle the situation in the slightest. Geoff bumped his knee against Awsten's in an attempt to show some weird form of solidarity. All Geoff ended up doing was hurting himself because seriously, the purple haired boy had some fucking bony knees. Awsten scoffed, shooting a look to his roommate.

“I don't need you guys. Geoff loves me, right Geoff?”Awsten asked, voice full of enough fake confidence and self esteem to drown a nation. The smile on his face only helped sell the lie further; it was almost too much. Geoff had spent enough time around him at this point to tell that the smile on his face was far from real. If he could tell that the action was entirely fake then it was only natural for Travis and Zakk to be able to notice the difference as well. Geoff nodded stupidly, unable to figure out an alternative to the situation. If he opened his mouth, he knew he would say something that would end up embarrassing himself.

“We love you too, dumbass.” Zakk asserted carefully, playful tone remaining in his voice. The last thing Zakk wanted in this case was for some sappy pep talk about how they all loved and cared about Awsten. That was something they had done more times than any of them would've liked to admit.The self-proclaimed juul addict was taking notice of some of the damage he had unintentionally caused. Zakk didn't mean to step on Awsten's toes as often as he did but it still happened more than it should have. There was something about the bite in Zakk's voice that would crawl under Awsten's skin and scratch away at any ounce of self esteem and self worth he had. Despite everything, Awsten still viewed him as a great friend once he was (mostly) able to get by the tough words that were tossed at him every now and again. “Now that we have that settled, I've been dying to ask. How'd you get the shiner?”

“Bar fight.” Travis replied quickly, almost as if he was waiting for Zakk to ask the obvious. He was the only one at the table who was unfamiliar with Geoff's adventure from Friday night. Travis had gotten all of the details when he inquired about the state of Geoff's eye during his intense questioning process. Travis had originally thought potentially Awsten had given it to him, which he knew was unlikely at best. Awsten wasn't the type of guy to start throwing fists. Then again, Geoff didn't exactly seem like the guy most likely to get into a bar fight either. People had a way of surprising you like that.

“It wasn't a bar fight!” Geoff groaned defensively, throwing his hands up in the air in protest. He wasn't sure why everyone insisted on focusing on the series of events that happened to him. Sure, it was more than his entire previous life had been but come on! Were everyone else's lives that boring that his story had become the hot topic? “I might've saved this girl from her abusive boyfriend.” He chose his words carefully, not exactly comfortable enough to say that it was her dominant. His mind wandered to the girl he had met previously and hoped she was doing alright. He would have to shoot her a quick message to check in on her. Geoff felt oddly protective over her, almost like an older brother or something. He was just positive that no matter what happened, she would end up alright. She was probably tougher than she led on.

“Did it happen in a bar?” Zakk asked curiously, eyes darting towards Geoff. Geoff wasn't the type of guy he pegged as a fighter; while he on the other-hand... Well, he got into his fair share of trouble to say the least. It wasn't his fault that his two closest friends weren't big on the party scene, leaving him to brave the unknown all by himself. It put him in more sticky situations than he'd have liked to admit and if Zakk was someone with an addictive personality, he probably would've gotten sucked into a rut. He'd seen it happen hundreds of times before. People would come in, get wasted, get faded, get fucked up. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Then they'd go back into their boring, mundane life and repeat the cycle every weekend. Their jobs never changing along with their drinks or drugs of choice. It was more depressing the more he thought about it.

“Yeah bu-”

“Then it's a bar fight.” Awsten affirmed quickly, the teasing look on his eye already back in place. As much as Awsten bothered his roommate about it, he actually thought it was kind of cool. Awsten wished he could have the nerve to interrupt a situation like that without feeling all of his anxieties pool in his stomach. He wished that he could throw the first punch at someone being an asshole. He was less interested in the fact Geoff had won the attention of two girls and was more focused on how cool he sounded. The night he met Geoff, all he remembered was that he made a huge stink about being player two. Geoff's bar fight was proof that Geoff was right. He deserved to be player one after all. He was a hero. Awsten didn't even have the ability to call himself the sidekick.

“It's not a bar fight.” Geoff argued tiredly, already slightly bored with an event that only happened less than forty-eight hours ago. He pulled his phone out and ignored the commentary happening around him. He pulled up Grace's name in his phone, which to Geoff's surprise read 'Princess' with a series of pink hearts and a tiny crown at the end. He smiled at the contact name and shook his head. Ignoring the comment about his smile from Travis, he typed out a little message asking about how she was doing. He thought about doing the same for Chloe hesitantly. Did she even want to see him again? He wasn't sure. Geoff slid his phone back into his pocket and tried to keep his mind off of the vegan girl.

“I can't exactly defend you if I don't know what happened.” Zakk explained with a chuckle, shooting Geoff a questioning glance. Zakk had heard so much about this story that at this point, it had him interested in whatever had gone on Friday night in Geoff's world. Maybe Geoff wasn't the bland kind of guy Zakk thought he was. He smirked at the thought instantly. The concept of having someone to drag around to bars with him was fantastic. The more the other two boys kept hyping Geoff up, the more he seemed like a promising candidate to get into trouble with.

“No. Nope! No. I am not telling the threesome story one more time.” Geoff was shaking his head profusely at this point. With every retelling of the tale, Geoff could feel a part of his soul leave his body. It was so out of character for him to get involved with something like that and he was positive that if he hadn't had anything in his system that it wouldn't have happened. A weird part of Geoff liked it more than he should of. It was a thrill that his old life didn't have; a risk he had never taken. Geoff had gotten so used to sitting in the background that he didn't know what to do as the center of attention. “I've told it twice already. I never want to tell it again.”

“Didn't know there was a threesome. Interesting.” Zakk was definitely interested in Geoff now in more ways than one. The other boy had brought it on himself in all honesty. He was looking for a partner in crime and little to Geoff's knowledge, he had found one across the table from him. Zakk took a quick hit from his juul, blowing a cloud of apple scented smoke away from them. “But you can't just say that and not tell me.” His face lit up at the rolling of Geoff's eyes. An interesting pair the two of them would make.

“He's got a point there.” Travis replied coyly, more interested to see Geoff's embarrassed reactions and explanations than to actually hear the retelling. When he originally had met Geoff, he assumed Awsten had gotten over his whole thing against one night stands and had actually picked up a pretty cute guy. He didn't know Awsten's sexuality but had a strong feeling that the purple haired boy was at least a little bi-curious. He didn't press on that subject at all until he stumbled into the mess that was him and Geoff in their underwear. After an intense questioning, the only question that remained was the one about Awsten's sexuality. It wasn't actually Travis' business but he was interested to see if his alleged 'gaydar' was working.

“Awsten, back me up here! You don't want to hear it a third time.” Geoff shot the shorter boy a look of desperation. If he could get Awsten on his said, it would be possible to change the conversation to literally anything else. All Awsten had to do was say he didn't want to hear it again. It was easy or so Geoff had thought. 

“It gets funnier every time.” Awsten chuckled, recalling the part where the two girls had to guide Geoff to Chloe's apartment because of how intoxicated he was. Unlike Geoff had been hoping for, Awsten actually wanted to hear the story again. It was a story Awsten enjoyed. Geoff got the feeling that if this whole soulmate thing ever worked out and he got to be alive again, he was pretty sure that Awsten wouldn't ever live the events of that night down.

“More the reason to tell it again.” Zakk nodded quickly, trying to encourage Geoff to share what was clearly an iconic story with him. Geoff looked around the table, noticing all eyes were on him. It was something that made him uncomfortable. Geoff was the kid in high school that always fell into peer pressure. They might not have been in high school anymore and they sure as hell weren't offering him any drugs but the premise remained the same. Geoff sighed deeply.

“Fine. So it all starts off with this girl named Chloe...”

The date or whatever wasn't so bad after that, Geoff supposed. They all had laughed at his misadventures from friday night and it strangely brought him closer to the four of them. Awsten was still just as oblivious as Travis regarding Zakk's advances, which was probably for the better. He needed a bit of positivity after the chaos he had lived through. After lunch, the four of them split into groups of two. Travis and Awsten had the desire to check out the comic-book store, which struck Geoff as odd considering Awsten's dislike for cartoons. Zakk wanted to hit up his usual smoke shop a few blocks away and being the amazing wingman he was, volunteered to go with Zakk. It would've been great if his heart didn't flutter when Awsten shot him a silent thank-you in the form of a smile.


	9. Prepare for Trouble

"So when did you start liking Travis?" The question came off Geoff's tongue before he could stop himself. It came out playfully, almost as if it was supposed to be some sort of joke or something. Zakk was smirking down at the display case in front of him. Geoff had opted to come to a smoke shop with Zakk in hopes to give Awsten and Travis some desperately needed privacy. He just hadn't realized Zakk's true potential until he had allowed the inquiry to fall past his lips.

"Somewhere before Awsten liking him but after you liking Awsten." Zakk delivered the unexpected blow with ease. It was a move he had calculated since the group of four had split off into two pairs. Geoff coming with him to the shop was a blessing dressed in the form of a boy with a pierced nose. Awsten could be trusted alone with his person of interest because if there was one thing Zakk knew after all these years, it was that Awsten was more of a coward than he let on. He wouldn't have the nerve to make a move on Travis, not yet anyway.

"What? I..." Geoff's mind wandered to the smile he was given as the pair parted ways. A sound only he could hear rang in his ears but unlike the one that had played after they had first met Chloe, this one was nice. It was happier almost. Geoff thought that it might belong in a video game after a battle had been won. He wanted to feel happy at the sound because after all, Awsten succeeding was Geoff getting a step closer to being alive again. His heart hadn't gotten the memo. Instead, his chest hurt and there was a lump in his throat that no amount of swallowing would remove. "I don't like Awsten."

"I'm a dumbass but I'm not that dumb." Zakk still wasn't looking at him but instead had wandered off not too far away. He was glancing at very tiny glass bottles. Geoff wasn't entirely sure what they were for but they had different flavours on them varying from strawberry shortcake to mint chocolate chip. He supposed that they were something used for vaping or juuling. It hadn't been as popular as it was not when Geoff was originally alive. It felt like absolutely everyone who came into the coffee shop had a vape or a juul on them.

"Never said you were." Geoff's arms were folding across his chest in a slightly pathetic and totally obvious attempt to deflect Zakk's charming demeanor. Zakk was what people often referred to as charismatic, being able to charm anyone and everyone. Less than an hour ago during lunch, he had somehow charmed their middle-aged waitress into giving them her employee discount. All it took was a couple of compliments and a smile that could've lit up the night sky. It wasn't fair in the slightest. Geoff wanted to be able to be like that with ease instead of an armful of drinks.

"Never said he didn't like Travis." Zakk pointed out, this time looking at Geoff. The dark haired boy was flashing him a smile Geoff could only describe as award winning. Seriously, this guy was kind of a jerk but he was absolutely breathtaking. If the circumstances were different and if he wasn't as annoying as Awsten on a bad day, maybe Geoff would've had a crush on him or something. Given the fact that he appeared to be one of Awsten's best friends turned romantic rival, that seemed to be thrown out of the equation. Geoff had his priorities after all.

"You tricked me!" Geoff stated exasperatedly, practically throwing his arms to his sides. He wondered briefly if all of Awsten's rivals were going to be this annoying. He figured that most of them would at least get in the way like Zakk was. The thought made him want to stay in bed for the rest of the year instead of even bother to help Awsten sift through the potential partners. He let out a sigh, not even wanting to think about what Awsten was going to say when he found out that Zakk had even the slightest clue about what was going on.

"I did nothing of the sort." A smirk played across Zakk's lips. Geoff had fallen directly into his plan and for that, he was grateful. He hadn't originally thought that something that simple would work on the other boy. Perhaps, he had given Geoff the benefit of the doubt. He appeared to look like a smart enough guy but even the smartest of people could be fooled. "It's not my fault that you're angry at yourself." There was an ounce of truth the what Zakk was saying, even if Geoff refused to take notice of it.

"You diverted my attention to get what you wanted." Geoff was in a place somewhere between frustration and disappointment, more with himself than with Zakk. He didn't understand how the other boy did it and with such confidence that Geoff didn't even know that it was happening. It was like a super power belonging to the other boy and although it was interesting, it was currently being used for all the wrong reasons. "That's like, manipulation or something."

"Manipulation makes it sound ugly. It's more like refocusing your attention." Zakk hadn't even thought of himself as a manipulative person, although it was a word people tended to throw around him when they were upset. It wasn't his fault that he was good at reading situations and playing to people's emotions. I'm Zakk's mind, everyone played the game of life for themselves and had to act accordingly. There were plenty of games where you could care about your opponents all you wanted but life was one of those things where there were winners and losers. Zakk wanted to be a winner. "Think of it like magic instead. I brought your attention to one aspect to do something with another."

"I don't like you anymore." Geoff spat viciously at the other boy, taking little notice of the twinkle in the other boy's eyes at the phrase. He was positive that all of these flavors Zakk had more than likely already tried so he wasn't exactly sure why it was taking them forever. He turned his attention to the series of items in the other boy's hand; two tiny glass bottles and four small squares. Both bottles although clear appeared to be holding something yellow while the small squares were all different colors.

"You liked me?" Zakk had a shit-eating grin on his face as if Geoff had just given him gold. What could he say? Zakk liked being liked. If he had the option to bathe in the attention he received, he would. He swore that the adoration he received was a part of the reason he still looked like an eighteen year old. Awsten had always joked it was because he dined on the blood of newborn babies. Whatever worked. "Flattered but not surprised. I'm a charmer. It's what I do. I'm a people person, really." Zakk Autrey was a lot of things and a people person wasn't one of them. A people pleaser would've been a better description.

"You're an asshole." Geoff grumbled, meaning only half of what he was saying. Zakk was rough around the edges but the person he saw at lunch gave him a completely different impression. Maybe his mom was right when she said that people weren't always what they seemed. After his mother's death, Geoff spent a lot of time asking himself a lot of questions that he didn't have many answers to. He knew nothing would ever bring her back to him. He spent his time doing the next best thing; expanding on her philosophies so in a sense, a part of her would live forever.

"Part of my charm along with my striking good looks." Zakk replied cheekily, a smile decorating his face. Geoff was unaware of the two of them, although very different, shared something in common. Zakk had handled his loss in a much different way given the nature of his relationship being less than pleasant. He had spent enough time sleeping on wooden benches and on bedroom floors to know that people didn't just die when their soul leaves the earth. Sometimes it was when your mom chooses her new boyfriend over you. It was unlikely that Geoff would ever find out that aspect of his life though. There was no point in sharing information with the enemy.

"Being cute doesn't mean you can be an ass." Geoff grumbled to himself, slightly regretting coming with Zakk to begin with. Geoff's mom had been a firm believer in Jungian psychology, often explaining the concepts to her children in more basic terms. The one that stuck out in Geoff's mind the most was the concept of personas. He knew for certain that people often put out an unauthentic perception of themselves out to the world. Their reasons, despite hidden, had to be valid in their own right. Perhaps this version of Zakk didn't reflect his inner self but instead of a reflection of what the universe had expected of him.

"So you admit it." Zakk's cocky smile only grew, sensing the fact that he had gotten under Geoff's skin in just the right way. It was an effect he had on people that he had learned to grow fond of. He wasn't always like this, not before he moved out. There was only so much a kid his age could do after all. His attitude had come out to save any shred of dignity he had left after what he had experienced. Zakk hadn't told Awsten, despite the fact that the two of them were close friends. He hadn't even told Travis. It hung over him like a cloud of shame and the more he kept it in, the more damp the clothes on his skin became. "You think I'm cute."

"I'm done with this conversation." Geoff hadn't had the experience of a normal guy his age. Instead of going to bars and talking to girls, he was playing video games and talking to guys. He didn't know how to interact with the people around him in the slightest, let alone how to deal with being teased. His cheeks rattled him out, displaying his lack of experience in a shade of pink across his cheeks. Geoff turned towards the door, taking a few steps forward. He didn't need to stay here with Zakk. His only job was to keep him away from Travis and he had done that. The rest was all up to Awsten.

"Oh come on! Like you wouldn't have done the same thing for Awsten." The statement made Geoff turn on his heel, facing the dark haired boy once again. Would he have tried to get information out of Zakk? He wasn't sure. He hadn't so far but then again, he didn't like Awsten. Geoff couldn't see past the morality issue of manipulating someone else into revealing what was supposed to be a well kept secret. It felt... Well, he wasn't sure how it felt. Wrong wasn't the right word for the situation. Geoff shook his head.

"I wouldn't because I don't like him like that." Geoff stated firmly, not quite believing the words as they left his mouth. Awsten was confusing. One second, he was obsessed with Michaela and the next second he didn't even want to say her name. He somehow went from that to trying to force himself into liking one of his best friends. He had an ex girlfriend that he worked with on a regular basis that hated his guts. Geoff didn't even want to think about Awsten's other soulmate; a teenage girl with a bad relationship with her parents and a love of BDSM. Geoff wasn't sure what to think about the boy with purple hair. He didn't give himself the chance to think about it.

"Explain to me why my roommate saw you half naked in Awsten's apartment then." Zakk's attitude on the subject of morality was interesting to say the least. He left that morality was subjective. Everyone had different definitions of what good and bad were supposed to be and because of that, he was able to let himself do more than the average person. Manipulation and deception weren't intended to be tools of harm but instead something to better his odds. In his mind, intention was a powerful thing. It turned evil actions into alright agendas. "I'm waiting."

"Because we're roommates." Geoff hadn't had a roommate prior to Awsten but the excuse made sense in his mind. He had only had on a pair of boxers, which was a normal enough thing to sleep in. It didn't help that he had bruises all over his torso but there was little to lead anyone to believe Awsten had been the one to leave the love bites on him. Even if he was sleeping with Awsten, it wouldn't have been any of Zakk Autrey's business. Geoff could sleep with whoever he deemed fit. He pushed the thought from his mind almost immediately. "Nothing more."

"Awsten doesn't 'do' roommates. He didn't want to be our roommate and he hates strangers." Zakk was making a valid point. Him and Travis had spent the better part of a year trying to convince the purple haired boy to move in with the two of them, insisting it would be a good idea. In theory, it would have been. Not only would the rent have been cheaper, the chores would be divided but it would give Awsten some company. Zakk knew that Awsten would often isolate himself without meaning to. It was easy for him to get lost in his own head. All Zakk had wanted was to make the other boy okay. When Awsten had rejected the offer in favor of the apartment across the hall, the two boys thought nothing of it. He was close enough to pester whenever they wanted. He wasn't close enough to keep Zakk from falling for Travis, which was an issue for Zakk. He had seen his crush coming and had little luck preventing it.

"Maybe that says more about you than it does about me." Geoff's statement hit his opponent like a blow to the gut. He wasn't traditionally the type of person to be aggressive or blunt but this situation had given him no other choice. The kind hearted man's buttons had been pushed a little too hard this time. It was clear that Zakk was viewing Awsten as a larger threat than he had first imagined. It was the only reason for him to insist on an incorrect narrative where Awsten was off the market. Geoff scoffed at the thought. Whatever made Zakk sleep better at night.

"It wouldn't make sense for him to have a roommate with a one bedroom apartment." Zakk's argument was a strong one, even if Geoff didn't want to admit it. It was a common practice for multiple people that weren't dating to live in cities with higher rent prices like Los Angles and New York City but Houston wasn't exactly there yet. He hadn't wanted to tell Zakk the truth; he was positive that the raven haired boy in front of him wouldn't believe him if he tried. Geoff could've offered an edited version of the sequence of events, opting to say that he had a string of bad luck and Awsten was helping him out. It would've been similar to what he had told Michaela but a part of him hesitated. A part of him wanted Zakk to think that they were together, as twisted as that part might have been.

"I sleep on the couch." Geoff had found a balance between the truth and lies. He had left out the information that had brought him to staying on Awsten's couch for obvious reasons. Leaving out a couple of small details here and there wasn't exactly lying, was it? He wasn't sure anymore. He couldn't help but feel like his mom would have been disappointed in him. The feeling made Geoff almost sick to his stomach. It was a feeling that hadn't surfaced for a long time but had come back full swing. Maybe it was a lie after all.

"Yeah and I sleep with Travis." Zakk's sarcasm was heavy, although hidden with a layer of desire. He couldn't see what Awsten saw in Geoff, not from up close anyway. From far away, the brown haired boy looked great. His smile radiated to his surroundings. It was only when you got closer that you saw the heavy bags under his eyes from too many sleepless nights and the fact he couldn't look anyone in the eye. Geoff was like the ugly duckling in reverse; great from afar but when you got a little too close, the cracks would expose.

"You wish." Geoff's response was lackluster. He had lost his passion for this argument and the person in front of him. It took every part of him not to leave Zakk to rot for entirety in the smoke shop. Not that Zakk would even mind or anything. Geoff could only imagine that he would get a kick out of being able to try all the different flavors. It wouldn't be much of a punishment if he enjoyed it after all.

"Oh shit, got me there." Zakk rolled his eyes, equally tired with the debate. He just didn't want to be a loser anymore. Was that so much to ask for? He hadn't much left to say on the conversation. It was one of the few things that wasn't up for debate. Awsten wasn't about to take the one person who had brought him endless happiness away from him. As much as Zakk loved Awsten, he wouldn't let him. Not again. He couldn't let himself live with the regret again or it would eat him alive.

"Why does it even matter if Awsten likes him?" The question had played on Geoff's mind far longer than Zakk's. Where one was clueless, the other had answers.

"It doesn't." Zakk was determined. He had been a loser for his entire life and was determined to change this time. He had spent enough of his youth not allowing himself to have the things he wanted all for the sake of others. Having Travis by his side wouldn't eliminate all of his previous loses but potentially it would quench the need for victory. It would make all of the nights he spent sleeping with strangers and days delivering food worth living through. Maybe by having someone like Travis in his life, he would feel happy instead of hollow. "Because I'm going to win."

**********

"So like, what kind of comics do you fuck with?" Travis had been taking an eternity in Awsten's mind although he knew realistically, they had been in the shop for about half an hour. Awsten was under the impression that their venture to the comic book store would be a short one but he was sadly mistaken. "Like Batman? Spider man?" The purple haired boy thought that if he had a general concept of what Travis liked in the colorful cartoons, he could help him find something. If he found something, Awsten was under the impression that their trip would end faster. It was times like this where he wished he was more of a loser in high school. Awsten knew nothing about comics.

"I mostly focus on like action stuff with like superheroes. I love Batguy and Y-Women.” Travis replied quickly, not taking his eyes off the cover in front of him. It was full of brightly colored cat girls but for some reason, he felt drawn to it. It was clear that he wasn't a part of the demographic that he assumed had to be preteen girls but he didn't care. He scooped the comic book into his hand and resumed his search. He wouldn't let himself get distracted any longer. He had come in for the latest issue of Super Seven and the fact Travis was leaving with yet another impulse purchase made him remember the state of his bank account. Being an adult was worse than he imagined it.

“I think I saw The Bright Day in high school.” Awsten recalled a lot of intense action sequences and the tragic backstory of the superhero to be revealed. It wasn't his cup of tea by any means but he somehow sat through the entire movie. He ate an ungodly amount of popcorn and ended up with some of the kernels in his teeth. That had been the last time he ate what he now referred to as The Cursed Food. A lot of foods were cursed now. They reminded him of times that he would rather forget.

“Because I forced you, Jawn and Zakk to watch it with me.” Travis recalled the event from when they were in high school. The four of them had been much different back then. Zakk's hair had been styled similar to Sid Vicious and he always wore the most worn down jean jacket. Even back then, Zakk was a cross between fearless and utterly idiotic. Jawn had downright looked like an irrelevant side character in a bad sitcom. The only think that made Jawn stand out was the incredibly ridiculous Naruto run he would do absolutely everywhere. Awsten's hair had been a mixture of blonde and brown yet somehow he still had an absurd amount of confidence. Not even his mouthful of braces that he often referred to as 'train tracks across his face' made it an ounce lower. Travis was envious of his friends in a way. They all shared a lack of not caring about anything that he wished he had.

“Okay but that doesn't mean it was bad or anything!” Awsten exclaimed a little too loudly, earning them a dirty look from what Awsten could only assume was the owner of the shop. He shot a sheepish smile as a form of an apology. The owner responded with a scoff. Suddenly, he was glad that this was a place he didn't frequent. There was nothing that interested him anyway, with the exception of the person next to him. Awsten could only hope that Travis would finish his shopping soon. He knew that he could only pretend to take interest and look at comics for so long before he lost his mind. The one on one time with him almost made it worth it. Almost.

“You and Jawn made fun of the movie the entire time.” Travis pointed out, recalling the two boys talking almost entirely through the superhero movie. He hadn't expected much out of his friends. It was clear that they all had contrasting interests even back then. Travis was convinced that in a weird way it was one of the things that had kept them together for so long. It didn't matter how long they were busy or would go without seeing each other; when the four of them were back together it was like no time had ever passed. It was something he was thankful for. His friends were one of the nicest parts of Travis' life. Even when they were talking through his favorite movie, they were still the best friends he could ask for. 

“That doesn't mean it wasn't cool or anything!” Awsten defended quickly, although he recalled the opposite. It was slow moving and it couldn't keep his attention at all but he wasn't going to tell Travis that. The guy was his potential soulmate for crying out loud! He had to sell himself to one of his best friends like his life depended on it because in this case, it sort of did. He had to try and involve himself with the things Travis liked. It would help in his struggle to make Travis like him. He wasn't sure if trying to change himself to fit the ideals of others was necessarily the best thing to do but considering he was racing against the clock, he didn't have much of a choice. Who knew that getting engaged would be such a stressful thing to do? “I make fun of The Office all the time.”

“Like when?” Travis inquired, turning to face Awsten this time. Awsten clambered to think of a time when he had disrespected one of the incredible comedic episodes of the show. Travis' answer never came. Instead, he was met with an intense silence between the two of them that hang heavy in the air. The only thing Travis could hear was a mixture of the cough from another comic book browser and an old classic rock sound playing in the store. “That's what I thought.” He knew Awsten better than that. He watched The Office like it was the fucking bible. What Travis didn't know was that it was a show he only turned on when he was feeling depressed. That was a fact that remained a secret to everybody.

“I'm willing to give it another chance.” Awsten was willing to try anything to make Travis like him. Out of all of the potential options he had, Travis seemed the most promising. Between his hot and cold ex-girlfriend, a girl who had shattered his heart into a thousand pieces in the last two days and one of his best friends, his choice was obvious. He was really interested in who the other seven potential soulmates were like. He panicked for a moment. Was that thought a clue that Travis wasn't for him? He brushed the thought aside. No matter how cool any of the other people would be, there was no way that they could be better than someone he had known since childhood.

“What's with the change of heart? Meet a cute girl who likes comic books?” Travis was unaware of Awsten's budding feelings for him. If that wasn't bad enough, he was completely clueless about what Awsten was going through. The change of heart was for him. It had to be. Travis made the most sense and he actually made Awsten happy; that was a miracle within itself. It wasn't the easiest thing to thing to cheer up someone like him. His bad moods tended to linger longer than they should and effect everyone else. Despite everything, Travis still liked him. All he could hope was that Travis would learn to love him.

"I just think that I should give it another shot. I've grown up a little and should probably try to expand my interests." Awsten wasn't exactly telling the entire truth but he wasn't lying either. He had changed a lot since his late teens and early twenties. His biggest reason for growth had come only recently, even if he was unaware of it. The other reason had been the cause of his loss of hobbies; a blonde girl with blue eyes. If she asked him to repeat his biggest mistake, he would do it all again. Awsten refused to admit that little fact to himself yet it stayed locked into the back of his brain. "I miss some of the old stuff though."

"You should call Jawn. Start going back to local shows again. You used to love that." Travis was right. It was one of the few activities that all four of them used to do together. Zakk would hit on whatever he was interested in that night -boy or girl- while Travis would spend his time in the back of the venue chatting up whatever venue worker was on shift. Jawn would snap photos of every and any band he could get his tanned hands on while Awsten would spend the night mesmerized by the song. Few things had changed from back then, one of them being Travis.

"He's busy with The Houston Press." Awsten whined to one of his best friends, palming through a couple of comic books to dull the pain. There was a point in his life that he used to see his friends every day and now it had been a month and he had barely seen any of them. If being an adult meant not being able to see your friends because of contrasting schedules, Awsten didn't like it. Things had been much easier when they all ran on similar schedules. Sometimes it felt like his friends lived in different parts of the world instead of different apartments in his building. He blamed himself for pushing them away after the breakup. He knew it wasn't the right thing to do and he did it anyway. He didn't want to project that negativity into anyone else. The suffering was bad enough by himself.

"Go alone." Travis supplied, continuing his search for some sort of entertainment. Travis had missed Awsten more than he should have but he hadn't missed the dramatics for a moment. Travis had always been the one to keep Awsten levelheaded and rational; their time apart had made that more apparent. Although he had more questions than he should have for someone he viewed as his best friend, Travis kept them to himself. Awsten didn't like confrontation so it would have been pointless to even try. One by one, he let his questions pass him by. None but one lingered on his mind. Who was Geoff and where did he come from?

"I'd rather drown in Tropicana orange juice." Awsten had started sulking at the difficulties of adulthood. He wanted to go back to then; before. Where things had been easier than they were now. There were only so many times that he could convince himself that things would get better and he was running out of his optimism. The only thing that was keeping him going was the concept of having someone love him forever. It was something Awsten had dreamed about since he was a child. More than anything, all he wanted was to be loved the way he loved others. The promise of that sounded like it was worth sticking around for.

"Take Geoff." Travis wasn't able to place his finger on it but there was something wrong with Geoff. His eyes would light up in wonder at some of the most basic things like juuling or Instagram stories. His smile, although genuine, seemed disconnected. It was almost like Geoff wasn't a part of this world. Some people would have called Travis crazy for his current theory but he viewed it as entirely possible. Travis believed that Geoff was an alien. It would explain the memes he didn't know, the excitement in his eyes and the hesitation when talking about himself. Awsten had somehow found an alien and moved it into his apartment all without telling him, a devoted believer in all things supernatural. Travis felt the sting of betrayal in his back but ignored the pain. He would talk to Geoff about it someday.

"Why don't you come with me?" It hadn't meant to come out of Awsten's lips sounding even the slightest bit romantic and yet it had. He hadn't realized the implications of his words until after they had passed his lips. Perhaps it was good that sometimes he spoke without thinking. If he hadn't, some things would never have happened. All good things had a tendency to come when he wasn't looking for them. It was both a blessing and a curse. The things he needed never had a way of finding him in time.

"That's not my scene. Try asking Zakk." Travis hadn't detected the rivalry between the two. It had formed almost immediately upon meeting each other. Awsten wanted the popularity and the freedom to do whatever he wanted. Zakk craved the love and attention that Awsten got from home. The two teens were at each other's throats back in the day. Neither of them had realized that neither one actually had what they thought they did.

"I'm in a comic book store with you. Come to a show with me." Awsten appeared to have a close and loving family but that statement wasn't exactly accurate. His family fought more than they got along and it was clear that he wasn't their favorite child. It wasn't like either of his parents ever hit him or anything but Awsten couldn't help but feel a disconnect. He was convinced that being well-liked by everyone else would make up for how he felt. Awsten felt like somehow, misbehaving would make his parents notice him. He was tired of being invisible to the two people that mattered the most.

"It's so loud and everyone's so rowdy and my ears always ring afterwards." Zakk appeared to be loved by all and blessed with endless freedom but it wasn't true. It wasn't a fact that Awsten had ever been let in on. The purple haired boy had no idea that the bruises Zakk said he had gotten from fist fights were from his father. He didn't know that Zakk slept around to secure a place to sleep after his parents had kicked him out. He had no idea that in his teens, Zakk traded the only thing he had for the means to stay alive. Awsten was clueless about Zakk almost as much as Zakk was clueless about Awsten. Their envy was unnecessary yet it had always remained.

"That's how you know it was a good concert!" Awsten had somehow allowed himself to find the small pleasures in things to get over the large displeasures of life. One of those things had been music. He would spend hours upon hours plucking strings on his guitar, sprawling poorly constructed lyrics onto whatever page of math homework he was neglecting. It was something he had continued most of his life. He hadn't picked up his guitar in almost a year and a half. It remained in the corner of his room with a layer of dust shielding it from reality. As much as it killed him not to hold the familiar instrument, he knew it would hurt more in his hands. He hadn't written about it yet. The wounds were going to be fresh the moment he hit the first chord.

"That's how you lose your hearing before you're thirty." Travis had been the only one that didn't immediately get caught up in the local music scene. With Jawn as a photographer, Awsten as a diehard fan turned musician and Zakk who was essentially a groupie for hire, it left little space for Travis to fit. He had often spent his time befriending various people working in the different venues spread across Houston but that was as far as he went. The noise wasn't worth the cost of his hearing. If Awsten had ever got the nerve to play a show of his own instead of filling in for whatever local band member that couldn't make it, Travis had promised himself he would go. Awsten was worth losing his hearing for.

"Please?" Awsten pleaded, trying to pull an incredibly convincing puppy dog face. Thankfully, Travis hadn't seen the mixture of big eyes and a jutted out lower lip. Travis was one of the most hellbent person he had ever met. If Travis hadn't wanted to go to a gig, it wouldn't happen. It was one of the few skills he had developed from hanging around his friends. They used to be able to convince him of anything- him jumping off the roof of his house and breaking his arm was proof of that. It was only over the last few years that Travis had grown a voice of his own, filled with enough certainty to discourage his friends but not enough to keep them from trying.

"You have two people that love that sort of thing and you're really going to drag my scrawny ass to a show? I'm gonna get killed in a mosh pit." Travis had mixed feelings on the subject. He hadn't wanted to go because of the noise but he also couldn't think of the last time the four of them actually hung out. Sure, two months ago they all went to a house party but that didn't count. They weren't even in the same room half the time. He owed this not only to his friends but to himself.

"You don't have to go in the pit." It was a point Awsten had made almost every time a show had come up in the last few years. Awsten realized that just because he loved being up close and personal, other people didn't have to. They could miss out on their heart syncing up with the beat of the drum and feeling the bass crawl up their spine. They could miss out on getting out the aggression from their painstakingly boring lives by pushing strangers. Just because it's not what they wanted didn't mean that it wasn't what Awsten needed.

"I'm going with you, a pit legend. I can't just be alone." Travis sighed reluctantly, slowly convincing himself of the idea. He wasn't the biggest fan of the concept but he knew that the four needed some time together. It was a high risk, high reward situation in Travis' world. It was only one night. It wasn't like it was going to kill him or anything, right? He could afford to have his ears ring for a couple days and wake up with a hangover as big as the state they were in. It was one of the only parts of their youth that the four of them could cling to. Who was Travis to deprive himself of something that was the remains of his squandered youth?  
"Come in the pit and I'll make sure you don't get hurt." Awsten responded more seriously. When he had started bulking up, it wasn't originally for the sake of fixing his body. It was part of the reason but not the entirety. It originally started when Awsten had gotten tired of picking his tiny body off the floor. Strangers had always offered to assist and he always declined. He had to toughen up on his own and over time, he did. Awsten's frame was still incredibly small but his arms were strong enough to keep himself and the people he cared about safe and that was enough.

"One push and I'll be fucking on the ground." Awsten snickered at the thought of Travis getting shoved by a punk fourteen year old and ending up on the likely sticky venue floor. He hadn't wanted to but the thought alone seemed hyperrealistic. Travis trusted Awsten in most situations but in a situation with music, he knew that it wasn't possible. The purple haired boy would lose himself in the sound and before Travis would know it, he would lose Awsten in the crowd.

"Okay but Jawn will probably be there covering it and it's not like there's gonna be a photo pit. Just hang around Jawn." Awsten was almost tempted to skip bouncing around like an idiot to catch up with his red haired friend. Of the four of them, Jawn was always the busiest. It hadn't helped that Geoff had come into Awsten's life, limiting the amount of extra time he had to spend on his friends. Finding his soulmate should have been his top priority and it was most of the time. He just knew that he missed his camera loved piece of shit best friend. Maybe for a night, Jawn could be his priority.

"I don't want to bug him while he's working." That has been one of Travis' unspoken rules from the start. He had never wanted to distract Jawn from taking photos, even before he had gotten hired for the paper and all of his publications. It was something he enjoyed and Travis hadn't wanted to take that away from him with conversation that could have been had another time. Given the time that had passed, he doubted that everyone he knew would still work at the venues he used to frequent. "Maybe I'll invite Zakk to come with."

"N-" Awsten cut himself off, not letting himself protest the idea out loud. Zakk would ruin his plan entirely. He would get between him and Travis. There was no way that Awsten was going to let that happen to him; not again. He needed someone to distract his competition. Only one person came to mind. It was the same person who was distracting the person in question right now. It only made sense. "No, yeah. Invite him. I'll bring Geoff." Travis flashed him a smile that he hoped would be worth all the food he was going to bribe Geoff with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **********  
> CONTEST  
> **********
> 
> After some careful thought, I've decided to allow some of the readers in this story to get involved. I'm holding a writing contest for this story. Not a writer? Don't worry. GOC will have a minimum of two other contests with different prizes. Speaking of prizes, the winner of this contest will be able to insert anyone of their choice into a supporting role of this story. That's great and all but you're probably wondering what you're supposed to be writing about.
> 
> I want you to write about how the way you think GOC should end. It doesn't matter what pairing it ends with (write Awsten and Chloe if you want!), how you want it to end (You might be rooting for Gawsten but see Awsten ending up with someone like Ciara!), anything goes. I have not one but two endings already planned. One will be a bonus chapter. If anyone can guess and write that, I will award them a character added into the story as well.
> 
> Rules:  
> -All entries must be a minimum of 1000 words (The longer the better!)  
> -All entries must follow the prompt provided (How do you think GOC will end?)  
> -All entries are due on June 5th 2019  
> -All entries must be linked to me  
> -The entry can be posted on any site (If it's not on AO3, link me! I'd love to read it on Wattpad or anywhere else!
> 
> Prizes:  
> 1st Place:  
> -A character added into the story. It can be yourself, an original character of yours or a band member/public figure that isn't already featured in GOC. This character will be in multiple chapters of the book as a reoccurring side character.  
> -A one-shot written of your choice (Minimum 2K) featuring any pairing. The one-shot will be dedicated to you. I'll even make it smut if you want.  
> -A shout out in one of the chapters of GOC along with a link to your entry.  
> -A link to a fic of your choice posted in one of the chapters of GOC.
> 
> 2nd Place:  
> -A one-shot written of your choice (Minimum 2K) featuring any pairing. The one-shot will be dedicated to you. I'll even make it smut if you want.  
> -A shout out in one of the chapters of GOC along with a link to your entry.  
> -A link to a fic of your choice posted in one of the chapters of GOC.
> 
> 3rd Place:  
> -A shout out in one of the chapters of GOC along with a link to your entry.  
> -A link to a fic of your choice posted in one of the chapters of GOC.
> 
> Good luck to everyone participating. I've cross posted this to Wattpad. If this fails, I'm gonna be really bummed out. Don't do me dirty like that. Write something super cool.
> 
> -pastelaws


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